Outlive A Lie
by Fae'sFlower
Summary: There once was a time when Animals and humans got along peacefully. Those times are now over. One brave, green-skinned girl had tried to stand up for the Animals, but paid the ultimate price. Now, forty years later, will history repeat itself, or will justice triumph over power? AU.
1. Magical Dreams

**Hello, everyone! New story time! I know I said that this story wouldn't be up for a few days, but my impatient self really couldn't wait to share this with all of you.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

Eighteen-year-old Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands smiled as her eyes scanned over the Shiz University campus. She inhaled deeply, allowing the fresh air to fill her lungs. She looked down at the key to her private suite in her hand. It was going to be a great year.

She walked confidently towards the sign that read 'Crage Hall' on it and pushed the door open, walking up the stairs. She found her room and noticed that some of the older students had already begun to bring up her things.

"Are you ready to see your room, Galinda?" one of the older girls with a nametag that read 'RA Aya' asked.

"Of course," the blonde giggled, taking her key and after a few attempts, unlocked the door and looked inside. The private suite was a bit larger than she expected. Her room back in Pertha Hills was bigger, but she supposed she could make due with what she had. Since she had a private suite, she also had her own bathroom and kitchen, which she was grateful for. She couldn't even begin to fathom having to use the shared bathrooms. That was for _everyone else_ , not her.

She immediately began giving orders as to where she wanted her belongings. She arranged everything the way she wanted and two hours later, her room was complete. She looked around, satisfied, and nodded her thanks to the older students.

"Enjoy, Galinda. Just remember that we're all meeting out on the quad in half-an-hour," Aya reminded her.

"Okay," Galinda nodded.

The resident advisor nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Galinda looked around her room once more and sat down on her extremely pink and fluffy bed. She had to admit, she was feeling a bit homesick. She missed her Momsie and Popsicle, and she was sure that they missed her, too. But it wouldn't be long before Lurlinemas break. And she would write to them every week.

She looked over at her schedule on her desk. She only had two classes the next day; History with Dr. Nikidik and Madame Greyling's sorcery seminar. Sighing, she folded the paper and put it in her purse before leaving the room, locking it behind her.

Half an hour later, the blonde was on the quad in a group of twenty or so of her fellow students. She looked around, sizing everyone up. There was a girl with dark red hair and freckles, clearly from the Quadling Country. One boy was relatively short with dark, curly hair, clearly a Munchkinlander.

"Hello, everyone!" a girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair and a beaming smile said, clapping her hand to get everyone's attention. Galinda felt like she had seen her somewhere, but couldn't exactly place it. "My name is Gaile Thropp, and I'm a junior here at Shiz University. I'm also the co-captain of the cheerleading team and the president of the debate team, as well as a Resident Advisor in Crage Hall."

Galinda realized with a jolt who she was. She was the daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland, Nessarose Thropp.

"Just so we can get to know each other a bit," Gaile said as she reached behind her and grabbed a beach ball with black sharpie written all over it. "We're going to play a fun little game called 'Getting to Know You'. We're going to throw this ball across the circle. There are questions written all over it, and the questions when your left thumb lands, that's the question you answer."

Galinda thought that the game sounded very childish, but went along with it and only half listened to the other students' answers. She was only half-paying attention when someone threw the ball to her and she barely managed to catch it.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" she read, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

She thought about it for a moment. Her parents wanted her to be a sorceress ever since they discovered that she had magical abilities. But if she wanted to be completely honest with herself, she loved to draw. But not just draw; she loved to design. She sketchbook she had hidden from her parents for years was filled with drawing of buildings, bridges, and other forms of architecture. She was much better at sorcery, since her parents had practically forced it onto her her entire life, but her teachers had always told her how amazing her drawings were.

"A… a sorceress. I want to have a career in sorcery, and hopefully work in the Emerald City Palace," Galinda said. In truth, she had no idea where that came from. It sounded something that came straight from her mother's mouth.

A chorus of "oohs" and "that's nices" came from the other students in her group. Gaile smiled at her and nodded for her to throw the ball to someone else. She threw it across the circle and a tall Vinkun boy caught it. Galinda immediately recognized him as Prince Fiyero Tigulaar, the Crown Prince of the Vinkus. She blushed when he caught her eye and he smiled back at her.

"What is your best quality?" the prince read. "Why, all of them, of course."

A few girls giggled, and Gaile rolled her eyes with a good-natured smirk.

The game continued for a while until everyone had a chance to answer questions. Then they were all called into the grand hall for the special welcome assembly. Galinda walked into the large room and took a seat near the back. She had absolutely no intention of paying attention. Apparently, someone had the exact same idea as her, since she felt someone sit down next to her. She looked up to see Fiyero sitting next to her, a shy smile on his lips.

"Hi," he said, his soft voice almost making Galinda immediately swoon.

She nodded politely at him, since she couldn't curtsy while sitting down. "Your Highness."

"Please, there's no need for that," the prince smiled. "I'm Fiyero."

"Galinda Upland," the blonde said as Fiyero took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Of the Upper Uplands."

The prince gave her a lopsided grin that made her stomach do a summersault. She tried to fight the blush she knew was coming, but knew she didn't succeed when Fiyero started chuckling. He was just so _handsome_.

"So, Miss Upland," he said, still giving her that lopsided grin. "How would you like to join me in the café?"

"Right now?" Galinda blinked, looking around as the assembly began.

The prince shrugged. "Unless you want to stay for this boring assembly," he said with a slight smirk.

Galinda looked around. In truth, she didn't want to stay. They probably weren't going to say anything important, anyway. She slowly turned back to the prince and, with a smile, nodded. Fiyero grinned and offered her his hand, helping her to her feet. The two first-years quickly left the grand hall moments before the headmistress began her welcome speech.

That evening, Galinda gaily sat on the edge of her bed. She had a marvelous time with the prince in the café. They got to know each other very well and Galinda was already envisioning herself as a princess.

 _Princess Galinda Tigulaar_ , _Crown Princess of the Vinkus_ , the blonde thought to herself. _That has a very nice ring to it. It glides right off the tongue. Very sophisticated and elegant._

Her gaze fell on her wand and she froze. She knew she should probably get a bit of practicing done before her first sorcery seminar the following day. She didn't want to make a bad first impression to her teacher. She slid off her bed and grabbed her wand from her desk.

"Supernatet!" she said as she pointed her wand at her books, and they all rose and floated in the air.

She put the books down and cast a few more spells on the different objects in her room before she decided that she was finished practicing. She put her wand down, but something felt amiss. She didn't feel ill, although she was a bit tired from performing so many spells, but that wasn't what was wrong. She felt like she was being… watched. She looked around, then realized that she was being silly. She was in a private suite and no one else was in the room. There was no possible way she could be watched. Blinking, she put her wand down and changed into her nightdress. She did it quickly, since she still felt like she was being watched. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and then climbed into bed. She dimmed down the gas lamp and sighed peacefully, snuggling under the covers.

It was the middle of the night when the blonde was awoken suddenly. She looked around, not seeing what had woken her up. She looked up and realized that her window was open as a cold breeze was coming into the room. Confused as to how it had opened, the blonde climbed out of bed and closed the window. She was halfway back to her bed when she realized that the window was opened again. Sighing, she went back and closed it again, locking it this time. Satisfied, she went back to bed, but she had just climbed under the covers when she heard the window being opened again. She looked up and saw the frames slowly parting and allowing the cold air to come in.

"I thought I had locked it…" the blonde muttered, her voice slightly husky with sleep as she pushed herself up. Grunting, she got out of bed again and went back to the window. She examined them before closing and locking them again, making sure that the lock wouldn't come undone. Once she was satisfied, she slowly backed again, her eyes never leaving the window as she climbed back into bed. She just got under the covers when her gaslight turned on, illuminating the entire room. Grunting in frustration, she looked up and turned off the light. After a while, nothing weird happened, so the blonde decided to go back to sleep.

 _The blonde looked around, not knowing where she was. She was in some sort of fancy room with green walls and a floor. She saw the Oz head floating above a throne and gasped, realizing where she was. She was standing in the throne room in the Emerald City Palace._

 _"Why am I here?" she asked aloud, not really expecting anyone to answer._

 _Then she heard something. She heard… voices. They sounded like they were in the room with her, but she didn't see anyone._

 _"Hello?" the blonde called, hoping that someone would appear. "Who's there?"_

 _The voices became clearer, but no one appeared. She couldn't tell what they were saying, or who was speaking, but she managed to catch a few words._

 _"What… me… do…"_

 _"… Chistery…"_

 _"… Spell…"_

 _"… Book… enchantments…"_

 _"… Recipe book for change…"_

With that, the blonde shot up, a cold sweat covering her forehead. She was breathing hard, trying to shake the dream from her head, but it didn't seem to want to leave her mind. Why did she have that dream? Why did she hear those voices? Who were they? And what was a Chistery?

The blonde decided to shake those silly thoughts away. It was just a dream. A very weird and vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless. And after all, dreams don't mean anything.

* * *

 **Now, I'm sure you all noticed that I didn't put Fiyeraba in the summary, nor in the characters. That's because… sadly… this will not be Fiyeraba story. It was originally going to be a Fiyeraba (I _wanted_ it to be a Fiyeraba), but the way this story is going, mixing in a Fiyeraba romance would have made it too complicated, and at times, unnecessary. There will be Fiyeraba moments, but it won't be the main pairing. I really wanted to focus on the storyline and the paring would have gotten in the way.**

 **This story focuses mostly on Elphaba and Galinda. While it won't be a Gelphie (romantically, at least), they are the main focus.**

 **I hope this won't deter you from reading the rest of story.**


	2. The Green Ghost

**Guest: No, Aya didn't just stick around watching. She was helping Galinda unpack and move in. I'm sorry if the RAs at your school didn't help you move in. They're supposed to be helpful on Move-In Day. I don't know what I would have done if an RA didn't help me.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: They'll be Fiyeraba** ** _moments_** **, but it just won't be the main focus. But rest assured; my next story will be COVERED in Fiyeraba!**

* * *

"Very good, Miss Galinda," Madame Greyling said as she watched Galinda levitate the feather into the air.

The blonde smiled proudly. This was her second class and Madame Greyling was clearly taking a liking to her. Especially when she saw how powerful she was. "Thank you, Madame."

The older woman smiled and dismissed the class. "Miss Galinda, would you stay a moment, please?"

The blonde blinked, but nodded and walked over to the teacher's desk.

"I see you have a natural talent for sorcery. I haven't heard of such talent in almost forty years," the older woman said.

Galinda smiled and blushed. "Oh. Thank you."

"I would like to tutor you privately. Such talent must be cherished and cultivated. I see very great things from you in the future, Miss Galinda."

The blonde blinked in surprise. She knew she was good at magic, but she never really saw it as her strong suit. Maybe if someone else saw how good she was, it was worth a deeper weight in her mind. "Thank you, Madame," she smiled, accepting the older woman's offer. She felt honored that the head of the university was taking such an interest in her.

Madame Greyling smiled and let the blonde go. As soon as the door closed, the teacher immediately pulled out a pen and piece of paper and wrote a hasty letter.

As soon as the blonde got outside, she saw Fiyero talking to one of his friends and immediately went over to him. Fiyero looked up and as soon as he saw the blonde, excused himself from his friend and went over to the blonde.

"Hey, Glin," he smiled, giving the blonde a hug.

"Hi, Fifi," Galinda giggled.

"How was class?"

"Great! Madame Greyling offered to tutor me privately. She says I have potential and sees great things for me."

The prince brightened. "That's amazing, Galinda! Who knows? One day, you might be Queen Devana's magic grand vizier!"

The blonde smiled softly. She knew how happy that position would make her parents. But would it make _her_ happy? "That would be an amazing opportunity."

The prince smiled and wrapped his arms around the blonde. Galinda smiled, relishing the feeling of the prince's warm body against hers. It was common knowledge around the campus that the two were together, but they had never made it official yet. It wasn't like the blonde was impatient or anything… she just wanted the prince to officially ask her to be his girlfriend… and soon.

"Galinda?"

 _This is it!_ "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to the café with me. My treat… to celebrate."

"Sure," the blonde smiled, linking arms with the prince and allowing her to lead her away. She smiled gratefully when he held the door open for her and led her to an empty table by the window.

"What's wrong?" he asked a few minutes in when he saw Galinda begin to look uneasy.

The blonde blinked up at him. "Nothing."

"Glin…"

"It's just… do you get the feeling that we're being… watched?"

Fiyero blinked. "No. Why?" He looked around. "Lots of people are watching us. Maybe it's that."

"No. I feel like someone is actually watching… like, stalking, us."

Fiyero blinked. "No one here looks stalkerish."

Galinda sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm probably just paranoid or something. Or I'm probably tired from sorcery class."

The prince smiled softly. "Maybe that's it."

"Yeah… maybe."

Once the couple was finished, Fiyero offered to walk Galinda back to her room. The blonde happily accepted and linked arms as they walked back to the dorms.

As soon as Galinda reached her room, she wanted nothing more than to collapse into her bed and sleep for a month. She unlocked her door and practically stumbled into her room, but the sight of her room put a halt to her plans.

Her dorm had been completely trashed.

Ripped and crumbled papers were everywhere. Her clothes were in complete disarray, and her bed looked like a family of raccoons had slept in it. The windows had been opened and leaves and other pieces of nature were all over her floor.

"What in Oz…" Galinda whispered, carefully stepping into her room.

She picked up her History essay, which was now soaked and ripped on the edges, and tossed it back to the ground. Thank goodness she didn't try to actually work hard on it. She pulled her wand out of her bag and muttered a simple chant word under her breath. Pointing her wand at her clothes, they began to float into the air and back into the closet. She had just finished when the closet seemed to open again on its own and the clothes spilled out again. A gust of wind blew from outside and even more leaves flew into the room. Galinda huffed in pure frustration and went to the window and closed it again. She waved her wand and the room began to clean itself up. The window opened again to let the leaves back out, then shut and locked.

Galinda put her wand back in her bag. She would make sure that whoever thought it would be funny to mess up her room would pay deeply. No one messed with Galinda Upland and got away with it. No one. But how did they even get into her room? She had locked it when she went out for breakfast that morning. Maybe someone used magic to get in. But who? And why? She decided to report the incident to the RAs. Maybe they would know what to do.

The blonde walked down the stairs rather quickly for a girl wearing heels. She reached the ground floor and paused for a moment to catch her breath before finding the RA office.

"Oh, hello, Galinda," Gaile said as she looked up. It must have been her turn for office hours.

"Hi, Gaile," the blonde smiled.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. It seems that someone has broken into my room and completely trashed it."

Gaile and the two other RAs sitting next to her gasped.

"And something seems to be wrong with the lock on the windows. Even after I locked it, it still opened."

"What's your room number?" Gaile asked, taking out a piece of paper and a pen.

"314."

The male RA gasped when Galinda revealed her room number. Gaile and the female RA turned to face him, their faces a mix of shock and confusion.

"Deon, what's wrong?" Gaile asked.

"314? You're living in room 314?" Deon asked, looking at Galinda.

The petite blonde nodded. "Yes. What's wrong with that?"

"It's just… the ghost of the green girl is in that room."

The female RA gasped, while Gaile simply rolled her eyes. "Deon, how many times do I have to tell you…"

"What's the ghost of the green girl?" Galinda asked.

"Ignore him, Galinda. Deon is…" But Gaile didn't get to finish.

"Once, around forty years ago, there was a student here with green skin. No one knew her name, but she was very odd. She never spoke to anyone, and always had her nose in a book. She was a freak, and she used to live in your room. One day, she disappeared, and a few weeks later, everyone was told that she had died. No one knew how exactly, but it was speculated that she was in the run from the Gale Force and they finally caught her. Some say that her ghost still haunts her old room, making sure that no one else lives in it."

Galinda blinked. A green skinned girl? That's impossible. No one could have green skin. It wasn't… natural. It wasn't normal. It wasn't logical.

"They also say she was the sister of the Munchkinland governor," Deon continued, looking at Gaile.

"Deon, that's absolute rubbish!" the governor's daughter sighed with another eye roll. "First, there's no such thing as ghosts. Second, even if the ghost was real, why would she still be haunting her room? And who ever heard of a girl with green skin? In addition, my mother never had a sister. I had to do a family tree project in high school. She was an only child."

"The girl really did go here!" Deon insisted. "My uncle went here and he said that there was indeed a green-skinned girl!"

"Then what was her name?"

Deon's face contorted in confusion. "I don't think she had one."

Gaile huffed. "Of course she had a name! Everyone has a name."

"Well, if she did, no one knew it."

Gaile shook her head and turned back to Galinda. "We'll report the incident right away, Galinda. Do you feel safe going back to your room?"

The blonde paused. Did she feel safe? She knew that there were no such things as ghost, but it would explain how her closet had opened by itself and how the window had opened after she had locked it. Maybe it was true. Maybe the room was haunted. "Is there a possibility of getting a room change?"

Gaile frowned. "I'm sorry, but everyone is settled in with their roommates and I don't have any more private suites available. But if you really feel uncomfortable –"

"No, I'll be fine," Galinda quickly interrupted. She didn't want the whole school thinking that she moved just because of a stupid ghost scare. "Really."

Gaile didn't look convinced, but began to write up the report. She asked Galinda a few more questions, but Galinda seemed a bit more preoccupied with asking Deon more questions about the ghost.

"Has anyone else been… haunted by her?" she asked.

"Galinda, please don't encouragerize him," Gaile sighed, but Deon simply laughed.

"Not that I've heard of. A few unlucky people who lived there –for a very brief time, anyway– have reported 'mysterious activity' in the room, but there's never been an actual sighting or direct attack."

"Galinda, I'm done with the report. I'll send it in first thing tomorrow. Is there anything else you need?" Gaile asked.

"No. Thank you," the blonde said giving the two a smile as she left, faintly hearing Gaile chiding Deon about the ghost story.

* * *

When Fiyero had first told Galinda that he was throwing a party at the Ozdust, her first concern was that it was on a school night… and the night before her sorcery test. But Fiyero had pouted and told her that he couldn't have a good time without her, so she had relented, more or less against her better judgment.

So that's how Galinda found herself in the center of the dance floor on a Wednesday night.

In truth, she was having a great time. She enjoyed being in Fiyero's arms. She enjoyed dancing and having a good time with her friends. She had probably reached her limit with the spiked punch, but she didn't even care. She was having fun. That's what college was all about, right?

Much too soon, the fun night was over. Fiyero offered to walk her back to her room, since it was dark and he didn't want anything to happen to her. The blonde giggled and playfully swatted at his arm, but accepted his chivalrous gesture. The giggly girl stumbled over her own feet as Fiyero tried to get her back to her room.

It took longer than expected, considering how much alcohol the blonde had consumed via the punch, but they finally made it back. She gave the prince a quick kiss before fumbling with the lock and key. She managed to get the door open and slipped inside, giving the prince a giddy wave before closing the door.

In the peace and quiet of her room, Galinda inhaled deeply and sighed, a hiccupped burp slipping past her lips. She stumbled over to her dresser and grabbed her nightdress before going into the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror before turning on the cold water. She splashed it against her face, feeling slightly better as she did so.

Suddenly, she stilled, suddenly not feeling alone anymore. She looked up in the mirror, but didn't see anything. Gulping, she slowly turned around and let out a yelp, coming face to face with a transparent apparition. Even though the girl was transparent, the blonde could still faintly make the color of her hair and her long-sleeved dress (which were both black), but that's not what she focused on.

She could also make out the faint green hew of her form, or what would have been her skin.

With a jolt, she realized that it was the ghost of the green girl Deon told her about. She was real. She hadn't even believed in ghosts until that very moment. All she could do was stare.

The ghost stared right back at her, making the blonde feel as if she was staring into her own soul, which did absolutely nothing to quell her extreme discomfort.

"You… you're…" she managed to stutter, the scare managing to sober her.

The ghost blinked at her, then threw her head back and cackled. The strange laugh sent shivers down the blonde's spine. She stepped back, her back pressing against the sink. The ghost stopped cackling and looked at the blonde with a semi-thoughtful look. She looked down at Galinda's hand before reaching out and grasping a pale hand in her transparent green one.

As soon as Galinda felt the cold contact, she squeaked and jumped back. She couldn't believe that the ghost had actually touched her. And she couldn't believe that she could actually _feel_ it. It didn't feel like an actual human touch, but she felt something. It felt like she was touching a cold, silky veil. The girl was technically dead. Are the dead even supposed to be touchable?

The ghost also looked shocked, as if she wasn't expecting Galinda to feel her. "Later…" she said quietly before disappearing.

Galinda's thoughts were all jumbled together and she couldn't move. What in Oz's name had just happened? Maybe she was hallucinating. That's it. She was still drunk and was hallucinating.

 _There are no such things as ghosts. There are no such things as ghosts. There are no such things are ghosts_ , the blonde told herself as she quickly changed into her nightdress and climbed into her bed. Hopefully, she wouldn't remember any of this the next morning.


	3. Helping Out

Galinda slowly opened her eyes the next morning with a moan, and immediately squeezed them shut against the sunlight pouring in through her window. She felt miserable. Her whole body ached, and she simply wanted to stay in bed forever. This was her first college hangover. Just great.

She tried to recall the events of the previous night. The last thing she remembered was seeing a transparent green girl in her bathroom, but that couldn't have actually happened, right? She was just dreaming.

"Dreaming about what?"

The unidentified voice in the room made Galinda jump and scream, her body immediately regretting it. She turned and almost screamed again when she saw the ghost standing a few feet away from her bed.

"I've officially lost it," Galinda muttered to herself, closing her eyes and slumping back against her pillows.

"Lost what?"

Galinda looked back up at the ghost. "What are you?"

The apparition frowned, as if offended. " _What_ are _you_?"

"What do you mean, what am I?"

"I could ask you the same question… or rather, I just did."

It was now Galinda's turn to frown. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Again, I could ask _you_ the same question."

"You're… you're the ghost of the green girl… and you're in my room… speaking to me. This is officially the weirdest, creepiest dream I've ever had." The blonde pinched herself in an attempt to wake up, but only ended up jumping in surprise when she felt the pain shoot up her arm.

"You're not dreaming," the ghost said. "And since you've obviously heard about me, then you know why I'm here."

"I… I don't know why you're here," Galinda said.

The ghost frowned, then disappeared.

"Hey!" Galinda called, but the ghost didn't reappear. "Come back!" Still nothing. She sighed and grumbled under her breath as she pushed herself out of bed and forced herself to get ready for the day.

"I need your help."

Galinda screamed and whipped around, realizing that the ghost had reappeared. She looked down and realized that she was wearing her lightweight, semi-see-through nightgown and blushed furiously as she subconsciously wrapped a robe around herself.

"You scream a lot," the ghost said dryly.

"Yes, well, I suppose one would scream if they were constantly being frightened by the ghost of a dead girl!" Galinda shot back. "Now, if you don't mind, I wish to shower without being watched! So leave me alone!"

The ghost blinked and bit her lip, but nodded and disappeared. After a few moments, the blonde seemed satisfied that the ghost had left (for now, at least), and quickly showered and dressed. When she came out, she saw the ghost looking out the window, a faraway gaze in her eyes. For an unknown reason, Galinda felt bad for her and felt bad for snapping at her the way she did. Didn't she say that she needed her help?

"You said you needed my help," Galinda said softly, causing the ghost to jump. She couldn't help but smirk; at least now the ghost knew how it felt.

"I do," she admitted, "but if you don't want to, that's fine. I get it."

"No," Galinda said quickly, even though she didn't know why. "I… I meant… um… what is your name?"

The ghost blinked. "My name?"

"Well, I just assumed that you didn't want me calling you 'the ghost of the green girl' forever, did you?"

The ghost cracked a small smile. "No one's asked me for my name in a long time. Even when I was…" She stopped, then shook her head slightly. "It's Elphaba."

"Elphaba," Galinda tried, the name sounding strange to her. "I'm Galinda."

"Galinda," Elphaba tried, then wrinkled her nose slightly. "That's a very perky name."

"That's why it's _my_ name," Galinda challenged, lifting her chin slightly.

Elphaba regarded the blonde before reverting her gaze back over to the window.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself."

The green apparition looked at the blonde. "Pardon me?"

"You said that you needed my help. I can't help you if I don't know anything about you."

Elphaba just stared at her.

"Is it true that you were killed while on the run from the Gale Force?"

Elphaba looked back out the window, and Galinda wondered if she had made the green girl mad. "Yes," she said after a pause.

"How old are you? I mean… how old _were_ you when you…"

"Died?" Elphaba finished, still not looking at her. "Nineteen. I was a few weeks shy of my twentieth birthday."

A shiver went down Galinda's spine, hearing that the girl was her age when she was killed. "That's so… young to be on the run from the Gale Force," she said, suddenly feeling empathy for the green girl. "What happened?"

"What happened is the reason why I need your help," Elphaba said, turning back to her. "There once was a time when humans and Animals got along in harmony. That all changed when the Wizard came into power."

"Is this going to be another boring history lesson?" Galinda interrupted with a whine.

Elphaba gave her a look, but continued. "He began with little things, like slowly raising taxes and beginning to segregate public areas, but then it escalated to taking them out of their homes and putting them in jails, even going to the extent as to make them turn back into animals or kill them."

"But what does all of that have to do with you?"

"I got an invitation to meet the Wizard at that time, Wizard Diggs, but that was before I knew what he really was; a fraud and a coward. He used to be one of my idols. He wanted me to come to the palace and meet him. I did, and he asked me to perform a spell from a very powerful, ancient book called the Grimmerie. It was a levitation spell that he wanted me to perform on one of his monkeys. I did it blindly, not really knowing how I could read the strange, funny writing. Then, the monkey sprouted wings and that's when the truth came out. The Wizard was a fraud with no real power."

Galinda recognized that scene as the dream she had a few nights ago. It was what had happened to Elphaba.

"I ran away, and I was labeled a 'wicked witch'. 'The Wicked Witch of the West' to be exact. I was helping Animals get to safety and working in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. As important as that was, that wasn't the most important thing I was doing."

"What was?"

"The Grimmerie," Elphaba said simply. "I was protecting it. As I said before, it's a very ancient and powerful book. It came from another world, and that why no Ozian could read it. It's beyond me why I could. Anyway, it's the most powerful magical item in existence in Oz. You can imagine the damage it could do in the wrong hands."

"I… I still don't understand why you need my help."

Elphaba gave Galinda a determined look. "I need your help to get it back."

"Get it back?"

Elphaba nodded. "After I died, the book was found and returned to the Emerald City Palace. It's hidden somewhere deep within the palace. I need you to help me get it back and destroy it."

"I'm sorry… destroy it?"

"You love to repeat things," Elphaba said with a slight frown, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I'm just trying to understand why a nineteen-year-old ghost is trying to get me to help her steal and destroy a powerful spell book. You've been dead for forty years. Why didn't you ask someone else to do it?"

"Because no one has the same strong magical abilities as you do. And believe me, you're not the first one I've come to. Hopefully, you'll just be the last."

The blonde thought for a moment. "Is that why I can see and hear you? Because of my magic?"

"People who don't have magic have never seen me, so I would suppose so."

"And I suppose you've been tampering with my room?" the blonde asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

The ghost looked sheepish. "Yeah… sorry about that. Especially your history essay, but I had to try and get your attention somehow."

"I can think of other ways that don't involve making me almost want to transfer. And… are you the one who gave me that dream about the palace?"

Elphaba's silence was enough confirmation.

"Was that the day you ran away from the Wizard with the Grimmerie?"

"That was unintentional."

"Giving me the dream or running away with the Grimmerie?"

"Mostly the dream."

Galinda sensed that there was more to the story, but decided to let it go. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you still here?"

The green ghost looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… you're a ghost… and you're still here. Do you have some unfinished business or something?"

"I told you, we have to destroy the Grimmerie."

"There has to be something more than that. You've been here for forty years. Don't you want to move on?"

The blonde sounded genuinely concerned and Elphaba sighed. "There were some monkeys that I was hoping to free. It was my fault they were… hurt, and I tried to make it right, but –" She got a faraway looked in her eyes.

"But you were killed before you got the chance to free them," Galinda finished for her.

Elphaba nodded. "The Animals deserved much better than that."

"I never really understood the difference between animals and Animals."

Elphaba looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, sure, we've all learned about it in school and –"

"You mean… there are no more Animals in Oz?"

Galinda blinked. "I've never met any. I mean, my parents' generation probably had, which means you would have, but…"

Elphaba looked at her before turning back to the window.

"Is the only difference that Animals could talk and animals –"

"They could do so much more than just talk," Elphaba said softly, yet her voice was hard. "They could do everything humans could. They had feelings, emotions, consciousness, livelihoods, everything. But the only thing they didn't have were equal rights. They were just like humans in every other aspect except that they were Animals."

"So… they were half-human?"

"No. They were like a higher class of animals, but not human."

Galinda was still confused. "So then why –"

"There was a history professor here by the name of Dr. Dillamond. He was a Goat and by far my favorite professor. Not because he taught my favorite subject, but because he… he didn't treat me like I was different because he knew how it felt to be treated that way. Animals weren't perfect; there were good ones and bad ones, just like humans. But they most certainly had the empathy that most humans lacked."

"What happened to him?" Galinda asked, although she had a guess.

"One day, he came into class and announced that it was his last day because Animals were no longer permitted to teach. I never saw him again." Elphaba paused briefly before continuing. "It was just another right the Wizard was stripping the Animals from. It was happening so gradually that no one seemed to notice… or care."

"Oh," was all the blonde could say.

"Yeah," Elphaba said softly.

Something clicked for the blonde. "Elphaba… you said you went here?"

The ghost green girl nodded.

"What was your last name?"

Elphaba glanced briefly at the other girl before answering softly, "Thropp."

"And… did you have a younger sister named Nessarose?" She saw Elphaba bite her lip as she turned away and got her answer. "Deon was right…"

"I was sent to Shiz by my father to look after Nessa. If not for her, I would have never come here. I… I haven't heard anything about her in a long time."

"She's the governor of Munchkinland," Galinda quipped.

"I figured that much."

"She married a man named Boq and they have a daughter."

"She did have a very big crush on Boq," Elphaba said softly, recalling the memory. "Wait… they have a daughter?"

Galinda nodded. "Her name is Gaile. She's a junior here."

Elphaba blinked. How did she never know about this? She has a niece. She was an aunt.

"Would you like to meet her?" the blonde asked with a smile. "Well… sort of meet her, anyway."

Despite herself, Elphaba laughed. "Um… sure. But… why does Gaile have Nessa's maiden name? Boq's last name is Metuchen."

"He died shortly after Gaile was born. I remember reading it in an old newspaper. I supposed the governor changed her name back, since she never remarried."

Elphaba immediately felt bad for failing her sister… and not for the first time. "Oh."

Galinda was about to say more when she heard the bell tower toll in the distance. She looked at her clock and realized that she was going to be late for her first class. Squealing, she hurried into the bathroom to get ready.

Elphaba blinked, then slowly disappeared. When the blonde came back, she reappeared, this time sitting on the blonde's bed.

"How do you do that?" the blonde asked, brushing out her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail.

"Do what?"

"You're sitting… on the bed… and you're a ghost," Galinda blinked. "I don't know that much about ghosts or spirits, but I'm sure that's not normal."

The green girl shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I wonder…" the blonde mused, approaching the green girl. She reached for her hand and grasped it. Elphaba's hands were cold against hers and it felt like tiny ice picks were pricking her skin. "This happened before. When you took my hand. I can… I can touch you."

"Why?" Elphaba asked, slowly pulling her hand away.

"I don't know. Maybe… my magic."

"Like I said before, you're not the first person I've asked to help me. There were others with magic, too. But… they couldn't touch me."

The blonde looked over and took the pillow from her bed. She took a few steps back before launching the pillow at the green girl. Just as she suspected, the pillow went right through her, landing with a soft _thud_ on the floor.

"This is… weird," Elphaba admitted slowly.

"Yeah," Galinda agreed, then looked at the clock again before grabbing her bag. "I… I have to get to class." She hurried to the door and practically flung it open. She was about to walk out, but she cast the green girl an over-the-shoulder look. "Alright."

Elphaba looked up. "Alright what?"

"Alright… I'll help you."

* * *

 **Also, today is my 19** **th** **birthday, so reviews make EXCELLENT birthday presents!**


	4. Princes and Kings

**Fiction is the Truth: LOL! I wasn't trying to write Galinda as an airhead. But I'm glad you like it.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Of course it's gonna be dangerous! We all know what's she's gonna get into.**

* * *

"Tell me how you died."

Elphaba, who was looking out the window, turned around. "What?"

"Tell me how you died."

"You say that like you're asking me to tell you about an outing I went on."

Galinda blushed. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"I know," Elphaba sighed. "I'm sorry." She took a deep breath before beginning her story. "After I was labeled the 'Wicked Witch of the West' and ran away and started helping Animals, I knew I could only get but so far. I knew that eventually, I would get caught and either be brought back to the Emerald City or killed on sight. I guess you can figure out which one happened to me. Anyway, I was in the forest when a Gale Force patrol spotted me. I knew that if I could just make it to the edge of the forest, I could fly away and escape them. I was fast… but their bullets were faster."

Galinda was silent as she listened to the green girl's story. "I… I'm sorry."

"The first bullet tore through my arm. The second one through my leg. I… they kept shooting me. Even after I was down, they just… kept… shooting. They probably continued after I was dead, just to make sure they finished the job."

The blonde was horrified. She always considered the Gale Force the protectors of Oz. How could they do that to a teenager? She regretted asking Elphaba to share that story. The lights began to flicker and she looked up. She had a hunch what was happening, but didn't know for sure. "I'm sorry, Elphaba. You don't have to continue if you don't want t-"

"They were beating me," the green girl whispered, a faraway look in her eyes. "As they shot me, they were beating me. They made sure not to shoot me anywhere that wouldn't instantly kill me. They wanted to make sure I suffered. And they were enjoying it."

The lights continued to flicker and the windows began to open and slam shut. The closet doors opened and closed came flying out. Galinda realized that Elphaba was doing this and knew she had to get the green girl to calm down. "Elphaba –"

"I was losing blood so quickly and I could feel my own pulse slowing down. Finally, one of them decided to put me out of my misery and shot me in the chest. Right in the heart."

The blonde didn't want to hear any more. Now she _really_ regretted asking. "Elphaba, please calm down. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I asked. Just please… calm down."

The green girl came back to her senses and looked around at the room. "I… I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Galinda said, taking out her wand and magically fixing the room.

There was a knock on the door and Galinda ran to answer it.

"Oh. Hello, Aya."

"Hi, Galinda," the older girl smiled. "Is everything alright? I heard a lot of noise coming from your room."

"Oh, yes. Everything's fine. I was just… um…" She looked back into the room. Elphaba was still sitting on the bed, staring at the girl in the door. "I was practicing my magic and things just got a bit out of hand."

Aya blinked, but nodded. "Okay. Just try to keep the noise down for the other students."

"Of course. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Good luck with your practicing." The RA smiled and gave the blonde a slight wave before leaving. Galinda closed the door behind her and continued to clean her room.

"Anyway, when I… woke up – for lack of a better term – I was here," Elphaba whispered when Galinda had finished.

"And you've been here ever since?"

Elphaba nodded. "I… I can't leave this room. I don't know why, though. Every time I tried, it was like a barrier was preventing me from doing so."

"I thought that ghosts were supposed to haunt the place where they died."

"Believe me, if I had a choice, I would much rather be the ghost of the Gillikin Forest rather than the ghost of room 314."

Despite herself, Galinda giggled softly. "So, what would happen after I help you destroy the Grimmerie?"

"I… don't know. I guess I would… move on."

"You want to move on?"

"I mean… I could stand a change of scenery."

Galinda smiled softly as she continued to get ready for her big date with Fiyero. There was a wonderiferious party down at the Ozdust ballroom and he was taking her. They were sure to be the best couple there, and the blonde was simply ecstatic.

"So, tell me about Fiyero," Elphaba said as she watched Galinda curl her hair.

"Well, he's tall and tan, with the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes, dark brown hair, perfectly chiseled chin, nice ears…"

Elphaba made a noise and the blonde turned to her. "What?"

"Nothing," Elphaba said, trying to hide her smirk.

A knock on the door interrupted Galinda from voicing her next thought to the green girl, and she jumped up to answer the door.

"Hi, Fifi!" she giggled.

"Hi. Wow, Glin. You look beautiful," the prince smiled, clad in a dark purple dress suit, matching pants, and a white shirt.

Galinda twirled around in her pink party dress. "Thank you, Fifi. Are you ready to go?"

"You bet," the prince said as he offered her his arm.

The blonde gladly accepted and looked back at Elphaba. The green girl was staring at the prince, her eyes wide with shock and recognition. She looked like she had seen a ghost (despite the irony), and like she was about to faint (also despite the irony).

"Glin, is everything alright?" the prince asked.

Galinda blinked and turned back to Fiyero. "Yeah. Everything's fine."

"Good. Let's go."

The two left, and Galinda immediately made a mental note to ask the green girl about what had just happened.

Elphaba stared at the door much longer than what was considered normal. Then again, when had she ever done something "normal"? She blinked and sat down on the bed, resting her head in her hands. She recognized that face. It had been someone close to her, and she hadn't allowed that many people to get close to her in the first place. With a jolt, she remembered who it was, but would have to wait until Galinda got back for any confirmation.

* * *

As soon as the blonde returned, Elphaba was practically in her face.

"Is Fiyero the son of Prince Raal of the Vinkus?"

The blonde jumped back, not expecting Elphaba to just appear right in front of her. "We've _got_ to put a bell on you… somehow."

"Well? Is he?"

"If by Prince Raal, you mean _King_ Raal, then yes. He is. Why?"

"I… I knew his father," Elphaba said softly, sounding like she was hiding something.

"And?"

"And what?"

"You just knew him? That's it. Like, you knew _of_ him?"

"No, I mean I _knew_ him. Really knew him. We… dated for a short while."

Galinda's interest was now peaked. "You did?"

Elphaba nodded. "At first, we loathed each other."

"Why?"

"His carriage almost ran me over on the first day of classes."

"It did _what_?"

"And he was sleeping. We got into a little argument and he made a comment about how the driver saw green and thought it meant 'go'."

Galinda bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She didn't even know if she was even supposed to laugh at that or not.

"Then, Dr. Dillamond, the Goat professor I told you about, paired us together for an assignment. One minute, we're arguing in the library, and the next, we're kissing. I can't explain what happened. It just… happened."

"That is the most romantic story I've ever heard. How long were you two together? Did you go on fun dates? Did he take you on weekend outings? Did he –"

Elphaba cut the blonde off with an exasperated look. "No, he didn't. We were together from that day in the library until I left for the Emerald City. And… we didn't want to let the entire student body know that we were dating. It… it would have caused too much of a commotion."

"A secret romance? That's even _more_ romantic!" Galinda gushed.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Anyway, once I left for the Emerald City, I never saw him again. I never knew what happened to him, even though I know he knew what happened to me."

"Did you love him?"

The green girl thought for a moment. "Yes. I did," she admitted softly. "But… I was never able to tell him. We decided to take out relationship slow. We agreed to discuss our next steps once I got back from meeting the Wizard, but… obviously, that didn't happen. I… I regret never telling him how I felt."

Galinda honestly didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," was all she could think of.

The green ghost shrugged. "It's alright. It happened years ago. There's nothing I can do about it now." She looked back at the blonde. "How was the party?"

"Oh. It was fun. The food was good. The punch had lemons and melons and pears."

"Oh my!" Elphaba said, then laughed to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just… a little joke from… before."

"Oh," the blonde said. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"I guess so. I mean, there's no one I could blab it to."

Galinda rolled her eyes, but immediately perked up again. "Fiyero and I… are going to be married!" She let out a high-pitched squeal that could have woken the dead.

"He's asked you already?" the green girl asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh, no. He doesn't know yet. But he will soon. He'll propose to me and I'll become Princess Galinda Tigulaar, Crown Princess of the Vinkus. We're just so perfect together," Galinda answered, waving her off as she went into the bathroom to change into her nightgown. When she came out, Elphaba was gone. "Elphaba?"

"I'm here," said a quiet voice from the blonde's bed.

"Why can't I see you?"

"I'm fine. I'm just tired. Making myself visible takes a lot of energy. I guess I'm still getting used to it."

"Are you alright?"

"I will be. What's that over there?"

The blonde looked around. "Over where?"

"Over on your desk."

The blonde went over to investigate. "My sorcery books."

"Why do you have so many?"

"These two are for class, and this one Madame Greyling asked me to get for our private lessons."

"You're… taking private sorcery lessons?"

"Yes. Madame Greyling said that she sees wonderful things in my future. Why, she even said that I could be the Queen's magic grand vizier."

Elphaba was dead silent (no pun intended).

"Elphaba?"

Still no response.

Galinda turned, her eyes scanning the room, although she couldn't pinpoint why. "Elphaba?"

"Madame Morrible said the exact same thing to me," Elphaba said softly, and Galinda redirected her gaze to the bed. "She said that she predicted that the Wizard would make me his magic grand vizier."

There was a hint of venom in her voice and for a moment, Galinda wondered if Elphaba was making a connection between them.

"She also tutored me privately. She took me under her wing and built up my confidence… and my magic."

"Is that how you got the invitation to meet the Wizard?"

The green girl nodded. "I didn't know it at the time, but Morrible and the Wizard had been working together. Once she believed that I was powerful enough, she had the Wizard invite me to the Emerald City and she gave me the Grimmerie and I had to –"

"Elphaba!" Galinda hissed sharply, noticing that her dresser drawers were opening and closing by themselves.

The apparition took a moment to compose herself and the drawers stopped moving. "I told you this story before. I had to perform a levitation spell on a monkey, Chistery, and I gave him wings."

"Wait… did you say Madame Morrible?" Galinda asked.

"I said it a few times. Why?"

"I… I recognize that name," Galinda said, closing her eyes as she tried to concentrate. "She ruled Oz together with the Wizard. She was the most powerful witch in Oz."

"Was?"

"She died around twenty years ago, five years after Wizard Oscar. Her niece, Devana, is now the Queen of Oz." The blonde sat down on her bed and turned to the right, where she believed Elphaba was sitting. "Have you figured out a plan yet?"

"… You're sitting on my lap."

The blonde jumped up and turned around. Elphaba slowly became visible, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.

"S-Sorry," Galinda blushed.

Elphaba chuckled softly. "It's okay. Actually… you weren't exactly sitting _on_ my lap. More like… through it."

The blonde made a face. "That's even weirder, Elphaba."

The apparition cackled. "Anyway, to answer your question, I have thought of something. Have you ever been in the restricted section of the library?"

"Restricted section? Well… no. What business would I have in the restricted section? I don't even know where it is."

"It's in the basement. I went there to…" The green girl trailed off, then shook her head. "There's a large section of books that are banned by the government, most of which are sorcery books. There's a book called _'The Greatest Powers of Oz'_ , and it's an encyclopedia of all the most magical objects in Oz and where they're hidden."

"So… you're suggesting that I sneak into the basement of the library and steal the book?"

"It's not stealing… as long as you bring it back."

"So… that's two times I'll have to sneak in."

"You said you would help me."

"I know, but that was before I knew how much sneaking would be involved. If I had known, I wouldn't have -" She cut herself off, but Elphaba already knew what she was going to say.

"Oh. It's okay." The green girl looked disappointed for a moment before adding softly, "You don't have to help me if you don't want to."

"Elphaba," Glinda sighed, but it was too late.

Elphaba had already disappeared.


	5. The Secret Library

The next evening, Galinda sat with Fiyero in the library. The prince was sound asleep, his face resting on his opened history textbook. Galinda lazily scanned her sorcery text, not really paying attention. She had tried to talk to Elphaba again that morning, but the green girl wouldn't answer her. She still wanted to help the green girl, but sneaking into the library basement? That was just much too risky. She could be expelled if caught. Then she wouldn't be able to help Elphaba regardless.

The prince let out a loud snore and the blonde looked over, shaking her head slightly. She poked him with her pencil, but only succeeded in getting another, slightly louder snore.

"Fifi, wake up."

The prince moaned and muttered something sleepily.

"Fifi!"

The prince slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his now-sore neck. "Glin… what?"

"You fell asleep."

The prince looked up and realized that the library would be closing soon. He stood up and stretched, his joints popping in several places. "Would you like me to walk you back to your room, Glin?"

The blonde was about to say yes, but then remembered that she was going to get the book for Elphaba. "Actually, I… have to use the restroom. You go on ahead."

Fiyero blinked. "Are you sure? I can wait for you. It's getting dark and you shouldn't walk around campus alone at night."

"I'll be fine," the blonde insisted. "I have magic."

The prince still didn't look convinced, but gave his girlfriend a 'see you later' kiss and left. The blonde frowned slightly, but immediately hurried to the restroom and hid there until the library had closed.

She didn't realize that when the library closed, _all_ of the lights would get shut off. She supposed it made sense, since no one was supposed to be there. It wasn't that she was afraid of the dark. She wasn't; she just preferred not to be alone without the company of some type of light source. Taking a deep breath, she crept out of the restroom.

She had found the basement door while the library was still open and followed the wall back to the main shelves. She felt her fingers trail along the book bindings as she felt her way to the basement door. When she reached the door, she felt around for the doorknob and tried to open the door, but found it to be locked.

 _Typical_ , she thought. _It is restricted, after all._

She wondered how she was going to get the door open, then realized something with a jolt. Mentally kicking herself, she reached into her bag and felt around for her wand. She muttered a spell under her breath and the lock clicked. It wasn't very loud, but it sounded five-times as amplified in the dark, silent library. She slowly pushed the door open, cringing as it creaked.

"Lychinus," she whispered, and the tip of her wand started to glow.

Before her, she saw a seemingly-endless staircase that seemed to go down forever. Gulping, and silently berating the green ghost, the blonde carefully closed the door behind her and made her way down the stairs. She lost count how many steps there were after fifty, but assumed she was close to one hundred steps before she finally reached the bottom. She reached another door, and when she tried to open it, found it to also be locked.

"Patentibus," she whispered, and the door opened, more silently than the other door.

Smiling, the blonde slowly slipped into the room, and had to hold back a cough. The room was not only dark, but it was also musty and humid. It was like no one had set foot down there in years. Galinda remembered Elphaba saying that she had been down there once, but doubted someone had been down here since. Even with the light from her wand, she still couldn't see very well, and began to feel her way around the mini-library of forbidden writings.

"The Goriest Goblins… The Grate of Centuriton…" the blonde muttered to herself, squinting to read the book titles on the bindings. "The Ghastly Gaggle of Ghosts… that's a silly title for a forbidden book. Ah, here it is! The Greatest Powers of Oz!" she smiled in triumph as she pulled the book from the shelf. She moved to open the book, but it wouldn't open. It was almost like the book had been glued shut. Or… it was magically sealed. "Patentibus," she whispered, thinking she could use the same spell she used to open the door to open the book.

It didn't work.

Sighing, she tried to open the book again, but her fingers felt something different. She turned on her wand-light again and saw that the outer edges of the book were cut to form a keyhole. Maybe there was a special key needed to open the book, but where was it?

She reached out and retrieved another book from the shelf. As soon as she opened it, a face appeared in the book and started screaming. Gasping, the blonde immediately closed the book and threw it back on the shelf, taking deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart.

"Who's there?" a deep, male voice called out in the darkness.

The blonde whipped around in surprise. Someone else was down here? Who? Not wanting to find out, she grabbed her bag and wand and shoved them into her bag before running.

"I know you're in here! You can't hide!" the voice said again, sounding closer.

Panicking, she tried to remember the invisibility spell, but couldn't. And even if she did, it wasn't safe to try and cast spells while panicking. There's no telling what could happen.

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

The blonde bit back a whimper. If she got out of the basement alive, she promised herself that when she got back to the room, she was going to kill Elphaba. She then remembered that she was already dead and mentally groaned.

 _There has to be a way to kill a ghost_ , she thought to herself, then realized how stupid that sounded and shifted her focus back to trying to escape.

She could try running back to the door, but knew she wouldn't be able to run back up those one hundred steps without getting caught. There had to be another way out of the library. She heard the footsteps getting closer and saw another light source. As long as she avoided the light, she should be fine.

She hurried quietly through the shelves of books and found another door. She hoped that the door would be unlocked, and sure enough, it was. She slipped inside and closed the door, holding her breath.

She heard the footsteps grow louder and louder and stop right in front of the door. The blonde took a small step back, still holding her breath. She could faintly see the light shining from underneath the door and closed her eyes, praying to every known deity in Oz that the door wouldn't open.

After the longest ten clock-ticks of the blonde's life, the footsteps faded away, as did the light. The blonde let out a sigh of relief. She had no idea what room she was in, since it was pitch black, but she didn't want to take out her wand and cast the illumination spell. If she could see light from outside, that probably meant that her light could also be seen from the inside.

She inhaled deeply, and immediately regretted it. The room smelled like dirt and cleaning supplies. She had a feeling she was in the cleaning closet, but didn't want to prove her theory correct. She slowly sank to the floor and brought her knees up to her chest. Resting her chin on top of her knees, she slowly closed her eyes and sighed. She only planned on waiting a few clock ticks to escape, but she soon fell asleep.

* * *

The blonde was jerked awake with a gasp. Blinking, she looked around, trying to remember where she was and why she was there. The events of the previous night quickly came back to her and she groaned. Elphaba owned her big time for this. She had no idea what time it was, but decided that it was safe to sneak out. She slowly rose to her feet, straightening out her top and skirt as best she could and redid her ponytail. She carefully opened the door and crept back to the staircase door as quickly as she could. She used her magic to unlock the door and slipped outside, locking it again. She didn't want to leave a trail.

She quickly hurried up the stairs, thankful that she hadn't worn her heels. The last thing she needed was that extra noise. Once she reached the top, she paused for a moment to catch her breath before unlocking the door. She slowly peaked her head outside and saw the sun rising. The library would be opening soon, so all she had to do was remain hidden. She didn't want anyone to see her leaving the library before it opened, so she hurried up to the top floor and waited until more students came in before she went out.

The blonde belatedly realized that she was wearing the exact same outfit as the day before, and the fact that she hadn't showered in over twenty-four hours was starting to become evident. She made a beeline back to her room, hoping she didn't run into anyone else.

Thankfully, she didn't run into anyone else and made it back to her room. When she opened the door, there was still no sight of the green girl, and the blonde sighed.

"Elphie?" she called, hoping the ghost would respond.

Silence.

"I have something for you!"

"Yes?"

The voice was quiet, and the blonde couldn't quite identify where it came from, but she smiled none-the-less. "Come here and look at this," she said as she removed her bag and took out the book.

Elphaba slowly appeared next to the blonde and glanced down. "You got the book?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't get caught?"

"No."

The green girl smirked. "You're better at sneaking than I thought."

"Did you really think I was hopeless, Elphie?"

"No, I just thought that – wait… what did you just call me?"

"Elphie," the blonde said like nothing was out of the ordinary.

The ghost blinked. "Did your one-night of sneakiness grant you the right to bestow a code-name on me?"

"No, and it's not a code name. It's a nickname. Don't tell me no one's ever given you a nickname before."

"Does 'Wicked Witch of the West' count?"

"Absolutely not!"

The green girl was quiet for a moment, as if trying to remember something. "Fabala," she whispered.

"What?"

"My… my sister called me 'Fabala'. So did my mother."

The blonde was silent, not knowing how to respond to this new information. Thankfully, she didn't have to.

"Am I supposed to give you a nickname, too?"

"I would like one."

The green girl tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Blondie," she finally said.

Galinda's shoulders sagged as she gave Elphaba a look. "Blondie?" she repeated. "That's the best you can come up with? At least I used your real name as inspiration."

"I like it."

"Fine. Then I'll just call you 'greenie'."

The way Elphaba's face changed told that blonde that it brought up something dark from her past and immediately retracted the nickname.

"Okay, so we're back to 'Elphie'."

"And you're still stuck with 'blondie'," Elphaba smirked. "Don't I get extra points for making sure the names rhymed?"

"Please stop calling me 'blondie'."

"I will, once you stop calling me 'Elphie'."

It was the blonde's turn to smirk. "Not gonna happen. And you should be being nice to me right now. You owe me big time for what I did for you last night. I spent the night in a cleaning closet."

"I don't remember asking you to do that, so I don't see how I owe you for that."

"If I didn't, I would have been caught trying to take the book, and then what help would that have been to you?"

The green girl paused. "In that case… I suppose I should thank you."

"Yes, I suppose you should."

"Thank you."

"That didn't sound very sincere."

"I have to sound sincere?"

"Elphaba!"

The ghost chuckled softly, then sobered. "I… I really do mean it, Galinda. Thank you. I really appreciate your help."

"Of course, Elphie."

Elphaba realized that she was now stuck with that nickname and shook her head as she turned back to the book. "Can you open it?"

"No. It seemed to be magically shut. You need some type of key to open it. Look." She pointed to the cut-out edges of the pages and the green girl muttered a curse.

"Typical," she groaned. "And where are we going to find this key?"

"I… don't know. But at least we have the book. We can figure out how to get the key later. But right now, I have to go shower."

The green girl looked over at the blonde. "You look fine to me."

"I don't _smell_ fine."

"You don't?"

The blonde gave the apparition an exasperated look.

"I can't breathe, so therefore, I can't smell," Elphaba said in her defense.

"Yet you can talk."

"It's a mystery to me. But I will take your word for it and count myself lucky that I can't experience your odious scent for myself."

Galinda would have thrown something at the green girl if it wouldn't have gone right through her without causing the intended pain she wanted to inflict on her. "You are impossible, Elphaba!" she groaned as she marched into the bathroom.

The ghost only cackled.


	6. The Key to Success

_"What do you think of this?"_

 _The green girl looked at the sketchbook in the boy's hands. "I like it."_

 _"I was thinking of shading in the trees and drawing clouds and a few birds."_

 _"You're not going to add color."_

 _"I kind of like this sketch black and white."_

 _"Do you have any other sketches?"_

 _Of course I do."_

 _"Could I see them?"_

 _"Sure. Here."_

 _The green girl took the sketchbook and slowly scanned through the drawings. "These are very good, Raal. I love this one. Wait…" The green girl paused when she saw a hint of green on the next page. Slowly, she turned the page and gasped. "Raal…"_

 _"I was going to surprise you with that one when you leave for the Emerald City," Raal said softly, gently wrapping his arm around the green girl._

 _"Raal… it's beautiful."_

 _The drawing was a portrait of Elphaba, her long, raven hair dancing around her in the breeze. Her eyes were closed and in her hands, she was holding a green envelope with the official Ozian seal. She was wearing her Shiz uniform; a navy skirt and blazer with a white blouse. A soft smile was on her face, and she looked so peaceful._

 _"May I keep it?" the green girl asked, unable to take her eyes off of it._

 _"Of course," the prince said as he gently ripped it out and gave it to her. "It's yours."_

 _The green girl blushed, snuggling closer to her boyfriend as she further examined the drawing. She felt him place a soft kiss on her forehead. She smiled softly and turned to give him a proper kiss._

"I think I might know where the key is!"

Elphaba looked up from where she was sitting on the floor as the blonde rushed into the room, pushing her memory aside. "You do?"

"Well… not exactly. But I think I know how I might find it." The blonde said as she tossed her bag onto the bed and kicked off her shoes.

One of the shoes flew directly through Elphaba's forehead, but she decided not to comment on it. The blonde clearly had an idea. "How?"

"I think that since the book was found in the library, the key has to be somewhere on campus."

Elphaba blinked. "You've really narrowed it down, haven't you?"

The blonde ignored the sarcasm and continued. "Well… I don't think it would make sense for the book to be in one place and the key to unlock it would be someplace completely different. And I also don't think that they would leave the book and key close to each other, because… you know, that would be stupid."

"Very stupid."

"So… what is the only other safest place in Shiz that no one would dare to go willingly?"

"Unless it's changed in the last forty years, then that would be the Head Shiztress' office."

"Exactly," the blonde smiled.

"So… you plan on sneaking into the office?"

"Do you expect me to just go to her and ask for the key?"

"You don't even know where the key would be? What if it's not in the office and you get caught?"

"That won't happen."

"And how do you know that?"

"I snuck into the library basement and succeeded."

"You didn't exactly succeed, since you couldn't sneak back out until the following morning."

"But I didn't fail. I still got the book."

"One sneaky success doesn't make you a master sneak, Galinda," Elphaba said, slowly shaking her head. "You might have made it out the first time, but that doesn't mean that you'll be met with the same result every single time. You have to start being more careful."

Galinda waved her off dismissively. "Plus, I have another plan."

"Oh? And what plan might this 'another plan' be?"

The blonde smirked as she took out her wand and muttered a word under her breath. Elphaba could only stare as the blonde vanished from sight.

"Well… at least now I know how you feel when I just suddenly disappear," the green girl said with a slight chuckle.

"An invisibility spell," the blonde said, then found herself getting tired. She looked at the green girl and gasped softly.

"What? What is it?" Elphaba asked, getting worried that she couldn't see the blonde.

The blonde reappeared, looking exhausted, like she just run three laps around the entire campus.

"Galinda… what happened?"

"I feel… exhausted," Galinda muttered, swaying slightly. "Doing magic has never taken this much energy out of me. But…"

"Galinda…" Elphaba said, hurriedly approaching the blonde. "Galinda, are you alright?"

"I don't… feel so well…"

"Galinda, please don't faint. I won't be able to catch or help you. Can you make it to the bed?"

The blonde glanced up at Elphaba before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the floor, right through the green girl.

* * *

When she came to, it was early evening. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes and allowing them to adjust to the light in the room. She was lying on her stomach, her right arm under her stomach. Her right cheek was pressed against the floor, which made her neck hurt. Frowning, she suddenly wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"Glin?"

The blonde turned and saw Elphaba kneeling next to her. She could feel an icy, ghost of a hand lightly touching her forehead and she pulled away. She slowly sat up, bringing a hand to her forehead. "What… happened?"

"You fainted," Elphaba said, concern filling her voice. "You were out for hours. I was so worried."

The blonde turned to face the green girl. "I saw you."

"You… could always see me," Elphaba said slowly.

"No… I mean… you looked… corporeal. You looked like you were _alive_ , Elphaba."

"I don't understand."

The blonde slowly pushed herself to her feet, smoothing out her skirt. "When I was using my magic to make myself invisible, I felt like my magic was being drained. Then I look up, and you're slowly becoming more visible. It looked like you were really here. The weaker I felt, the stronger you looked. It's like you were feeding off of my magic."

Elphaba cringed. "The phrase 'feed off of' makes me sound like a parasite."

Galinda gave the green girl a look. "The point is… I think you were using my magic to… enhance yourself."

"I… wasn't trying to. I've never done that before."

The blonde tried to take a step, but swayed. She turned and sat down on her bed, grabbing her pillow and holding it to her chest. "Why were you able to do that?"

"I don't know."

"You've never just used my magic like that."

"I guess I can only tap into your magic when you use it," Elphaba said softly. "It's kind of like making a sandwich and expecting it to quell your hunger without eating it."

"That was a weird analogy."

"It's the best I can do."

The blonde laid back and closed her eyes for a moment. Elphaba sat on the bed next to her. "I also had my own magic, so maybe that's also part of this."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"Do you feel alright?"

"I'm slowly beginning to feel better."

Elphaba hummed. "Who is the current head?"

"Madame Greyling."

"Isn't she your sorcery professor?"

"Yes," Galinda nodded, feeling most of her strength return. "And she's very powerful. And she has eyes and ears everywhere. But…" The blonde turned to the green girl. "Maybe you can help me get the key."

"I don't see how… since I'm bound to the room."

"Yes, you're attached to the room… but maybe you could attach to something, or _someone_ , else."

Elphaba gaped at her. "Are you suggesting that I… attach to you?"

"It's the only way you'll be able to leave the room."

"You want me to haunt you?"

"Better you than some other random ghost."

"I will take that as a compliment." Elphaba paused briefly before continuing. "I don't really know how this all works…"

"How to attach to something else?"

Elphaba nodded. "Would I really be able to leave the room?"

"I think so. There's only one way to find out."

Elphaba honestly didn't know how she was supposed to attach herself to the blonde. Maybe if she just thought about what she wanted…

A knock on the door interrupted the two. Galinda bounced up to answer the door and smiled at who was on the other side. "Hi, Gaile."

"Hello, Galinda," the older girl smiled. "May I come in?"

"Of course," the blonde said, stepping aside to allow her in.

"The report of someone breaking into your room went through," Gaile announced, looking around the room. "While you said that your room was 'trashed', I came to find out if you noticed anything broken or stolen."

"Oh, not that I know of," Galinda said, but she was watching Elphaba. The ghost was watching the older girl with interest.

"She has Nessa's nose," the green girl whispered, even though she knew Galinda would be the only one to hear her. "And her freckles."

The blonde smiled softly. She watched as Elphaba reached out to touch her, but her hand went right through her shoulder, and Gaile looked like she didn't even feel anything.

"Is everything alright, Galinda?" Gaile asked, noticing the blonde's frown.

"Oh, yes," the blonde said, realizing that she must look weird reacting to things only she could see. "No, nothing was missing or broken."

"Alright. I'm sorry that there's not much else we can do to figure out who did this, but we'll do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again to you or anyone else."

"Of course. Thank you, Gaile," the blonde smile, and the older girl made her way back to the door. "Wait, Gaile!"

The brunette turned around. "Yes?"

The blonde glanced at the ghost before turning back to the living person in front of her. "How is your mother?"

Gaile looked surprised by the question, but quickly recovered. "She's doing fine. Why do you ask?"

Again, Galinda slyly glanced at Elphaba, who looked relieved to hear that her sister was okay. "I was just wondering."

Gaile nodded slightly and left. Galinda closed the door after her and turned back to the green girl.

"That's my niece," Elphaba said in shock.

"Yes, Aunt Elphaba," the blonde said with a slight giggle.

"She looks so much like Nessie. And Boq, of course… but mostly Nessie."

Galinda decided against telling Elphaba that Gaile doesn't even know about her. She was seeing her family for the first time in forty years, and she didn't want anything to spoil the moment for her. "She's technically older than you."

Elphaba made a face. "That's weird," she said, then chuckled. "Is it weird to have a niece that's technically older than you?"

"Well… I've heard of it happening. But I think your case is a bit different."

The two girls exchanged a look and laughed together.

* * *

Madame Greyling frowned as she entered the basement of the library. "Are you sure you heard someone down here last night?"

"I'm positive, Madame. Someone was down here, but whoever it was managed to escape somehow."

Madame Greyling closed her eyes and lifted her chin. "It's someone with magic. I can sense it." She turned back to the man standing next to her. "Was anything missing?"

"Yes," the man said gravely.

"Well, which book was it?" she demanded.

"' _The Greatest Powers of Oz'_."

The head Shiztress cursed under her breath. "What would one of the students want with that book? Well… no matter. They cannot open it without the key."

"Where is the key, Madame?"

"In a place where no one will ever find it."

The man was about to question it further, but wisely decided against it. "How is the book going to be recovered?"

The head flashed the man a wicked smirk. "Perhaps a room search is in order."


	7. Sneaky Part 1

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Yes, history does repeat itself. But things never happen the same way twice (Bonus point if you know which movie the second part is referencing!)**

* * *

Galinda cast a levitation spell on her feather pen, but she was watching the green girl intently. Slowly, she began to feel her magic draining and Elphaba was becoming more life-like. "It's happening again."

The green girl looked down and saw herself becoming less transparent.

"How do you feel?"

"I think I should be asking you the same question."

"I'm fine. It's not a complicated spell and it never took a lot of energy to begin with."

"I feel… stronger," Elphaba admitted softly, then gasped.

"What is it?" Galinda asked, beginning to feel tired.

"Galinda… look in the mirror."

The blonde slowly approached her full-length mirror on the wall and gasped. "Elphaba… you… you're reflection…"

For the first time in over forty-years, Elphaba Thropp was looking at her reflection.

She saw herself in all her green glory, running her hand through her hair. She slowly dragged her hand down to her cheek, resting it there as her eyes refused to leave her reflection.

"I haven't aged a day," the green girl said softly. "I am the youngest-looking fifty-nine year old in the history of Oz."

The blonde let out a laugh, then stopped the spell. The pen clattered back onto her desk and Elphaba's form vanished from the mirror.

"Are you alright?" the ghost asked, turning to the blonde.

She took a sip of apple juice from the cup on her desk. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm not as tired as before." She turned back to her friend. "How are you feeling?"

"To be honest, a bit weird. I haven't seen myself in such a long time that it felt weird to see what I look like… or _looked_ like."

Galinda smiled softly, then got an idea. "Wait here."

"You say that like I could leave if I wanted to." The green girl looked up. "What are you looking for?"

The blonde was at her vanity, searching for something. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, holding up a pink flower hair clip. "Lueur," she muttered and a faint pink aura surrounded her.

She saw Elphaba becoming corporeal and gently clipped the flower clip into her hair. The green girl quickly realized what Galinda was doing. She had created a magic aura around her so she could use it to remain corporeal. She turned back to the mirror and lightly touched the flower in her hair.

"Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you," the blonde smiled, gently taking her hand. While it was still cold, it wasn't the icy touch she felt before with the ghost. "You're beautiful."

Elphaba was still touching the flower, and Galinda knew that if she could, a few tears would have been rolling down her cheek. The blonde reached up and gently fixed Elphaba's hair in front of her shoulder.

"Pink goes good with green," she said with a slight giggle.

Elphaba chuckled softly, still clearly very emotional. "No one's… ever called me beautiful before. They… never saw past the green." She turned to face the blonde. "But you did."

Galinda felt bad that she was the first person to compliment the green girl… especially since she was already dead. "Well, it's true. You're very beautiful. Even without the flower." In the spur-of-the-moment decision, she gently wrapped her arms around the green girl.

In truth, even though Elphaba was corporeal, she didn't know what she expected to feel. All she knew was that she didn't expect it to feel like she was hugging a real person. Elphaba still felt cold, but Galinda was able to wrap her arms around her solid(ish) form.

The green girl was more than surprised by the contact. Not just because it was out-of-the-blue, but because she could actually _feel_ Galinda, as if she were alive. She slowly wrapped her arms around the blonde, returning the hug. She felt warm, which Elphaba expected, mostly because she had skin to keep her body heat inside.

"Don't you feel tired?" she asked, gently pulling away.

"A bit. But I'm okay." She directed her attention back to the mirror, and Elphaba followed suit. "Have you ever considered changing your clothes?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "There are clothing shops for the dead?"

"You must get tired of wearing that old dress," Galinda said, gesturing to the long-sleeved, long black dress Elphaba was wearing.

The apparition fiddled with one of the buttons on her chest. "I don't have a reason to change it. Plus… I don't think I _could_ take it off, even if I wanted to."

"What do you mean?"

"It… feels like it's a part of me. Like… a part of my spirit."

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Galinda turned to the door and stopped the spell. Elphaba's form disappeared from the mirror and the flower clip clattered to the ground. Elphaba frowned slightly as Galinda hurriedly answered the door.

"Fifi!" she gasped, seeing her boyfriend.

"It's Greyling," the prince gasped, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "She's giving all of her sorcery students room checks."

Galinda paled. "What? Why?"

"I heard her say something about something being stolen from her. She's magically tearing all of the rooms apart."

The blonde looked at Elphaba. The ghost gave her a panicked look as they looked around the room.

"Galinda? What are you looking at?" Fiyero asked, following the blonde's gaze and seeing nothing.

"I… Fifi, I need to ask you a favor," the blonde said.

"What is it?"

The blonde hurriedly went into her closet and pulled out the book. "This is what she's looking for."

"What is that?"

"It's a very powerful book. In the wrong hands, it could be very dangerous. And Greyling's hands are the wrong hands."

"Galinda… what are you talking about? How did you get that? Are you the one who stole it?"

"Fiyero, that's not important right now. I need you to take this book and hide it in your room. Greyling won't check your room because you're not in her sorcery seminar."

Fiyero stared at the large book in the petite blonde's hands. "Galinda…"

"Can you trust him?" Elphaba asked from behind the blonde.

"He's my boyfriend. Of course I can trust him," Galinda said.

"Glin, who are you talking to?" the prince asked.

"Fifi, just take the book and get out of here before Greyling catches you," Galinda said, shoving the book into the prince's hands. "We don't have much time! Hurry! Go! Now!"

Making a mental note to question the blonde later, Fiyero put the book in his bag and hurried away. Galinda quickly closed the door behind him, her exhaustion from the spell catching up to her.

"Sit down," Elphaba said.

Galinda slowly moved to the bed, sitting down with a loud huff. "That was close."

"We're not out of the woods just yet," Elphaba said as she sat down next to her.

The blonde glanced at her. "You should probably not be visible when Greyling comes in."

"But you're the only one who can see me."

"Greyling has very powerful magic, and we don't want to risk anything."

Another knock came from the door and Galinda glanced pleadingly at the ghost. Elphaba bit her lip, but did as the blonde asked and vanished from sight. The blonde quickly knocked at the door.

"Oh, Madame Greyling. What a surprise," Galinda asked, hoping she was feigning enough surprise.

"Miss Galinda," the head nodded. "May I come in?"

"Of course," the blonde said, stepping aside as Greyling walked in. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, Miss Galinda. Something is very wrong." Greyling glared at the blonde with her piercing blue eyes and for a moment, the blonde feared for her life. "Something very valuable was stolen from school grounds, and I have reason to believe that a student from my sorcery seminar is responsible."

"May I know what was stolen?"

"Just know that it is an item of high sentimental value. Do you mind if I have a look around your room?"

"Not at all," Galinda said. She had nothing to hide, after all. At least… not in the room… at the moment.

Greyling nodded as she took out her wand and wordlessly waved it over her head. All Galinda could do was scream and duck as her room was turned upside-down and inside out. She crawled into the corner as her books and clothes flew in every possible direction. She was more than positive that a few of her belongs flew directly through the green girl, but was glad Elphaba was remaining hidden.

After what seemed like forever, Greyling grunted in frustration and the room stopped spinning. "Not here," she groaned and waved her wand. The room was returned to its original state. "I apologize for the commotion, Miss Galinda."

"Of course, Madame," Galinda said, quickly standing and brushing off her skirt. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

The head nodded and swiftly left, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door closed, Elphaba reappeared, sitting on the windowsill.

"Now what?" the green girl asked, watching as a frazzled Galinda collapsed onto the bed.

"Now," the blonde breathed, bringing a hand to her forehead. "We find the key to unlock that book."

* * *

 _"Elphaba!"_

 _The green girl looked up from where she was kneeling next to her sister to find Raal hurrying over to her, a bouquet of poppies in his hand. "I'm… happy for you."_

 _"Thank you," the green girl smiled as she accepted the flowers._

 _"Have fun in the Emerald City. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. Make sure you take lots of notes so you can tell me everything."_

 _"I'll only be gone for a week."_

 _"I know, but that's a week without you."_

 _Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You're so sappy."_

 _"You love it," Raal said as he softly kissed her forehead. "I'll see you in a week, okay?"_

 _"Okay," Elphaba said as she boarded the train._

Elphaba was startled out of her thoughts by the door opening and slamming shut. She looked over to see the blonde marching into the room, looking like she had just finished crying. "Galinda, are you alright?"

The blonde didn't answer her. Instead, she threw the large, locked book aside, not caring that it flew right through the ghost and landed on the floor.

"Glin, what happened? Is everything alright?"

"Yes." The blonde's answer was short, and Elphaba didn't buy it for a clock-tick.

"Why do you look like you just finished sobbing?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Glin, please tell me. Something's bothering you."

"Mind your own damn business, Elphaba!"

The green girl took a step back, not expecting to be snapped at like that. "Glin…"

"Just shut up!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"You wanna know what's wrong?" the blonde asked, slowly turning around to face the green girl. "I went to get the book back from Fiyero… and he broke up with me."

"He what?"

"He broke up with me. He said that he didn't know if he could trust me if I'm keeping secrets from him."

"You didn't tell him about… me, did you?"

"What in Oz was I supposed to say? 'There's a dead girl in my room and I'm talking to her spirit'? That sounds insane!"

Elphaba was silent for a moment. She didn't know what to say.

"If I had tried to explain it to him, do you know what he would have done? He would have called me crazy!"

"Glin –"

"And you know what? He would have been right. I am crazy."

"You're not crazy!"

"I'm crazy for actually allowing myself to get tangled up in all of this." She turned away from the green girl. "When I didn't tell him, he said I was either lying or insane. He couldn't trust me either way. He accused me of lying to him about my feelings for him this whole time. 'You're lying about this, so what would have stopped you from lying about everything else?'," she quoted him bitterly.

"Galinda, I'm so sorry," Elphaba said, though she knew it wouldn't provide little comfort.

"This is all your fault!" the blonde spat angrily at the green girl. "If you hadn't gotten me involved in this whole mess, none of this would have happened!"

"Galinda, I –"

"Save it! You know what, Elphaba? It's a good thing you're dead. Because that's the only thing stopping me from killing you myself!"

"You don't mean that," Elphaba said softly.

"I do! And you know what? You can find someone else to help you on your stupid little quest, because I'm done!" the blonde said as she stomped over to the door.

"Glin, wait! Glin, where are you going?"

"As far away from you as possible! No more creepy ghosts and no more death missions! I'm speaking to the head and getting a room transfer!"

"Galinda! Galinda, please don't leave me!" the green girl pleaded. The blonde opened the door, but Elphaba forcibly closed it. "Glin, please! You're the first person in forty years that I've been able to communicate with. Please don't leave me!"

"You've been fine before me, and you'll be fine after! You can stay trapped her forever for all I care!" Galinda snapped, reopening the door. She glared at the ghost over her shoulder. "The rumors were right. You are a freak."

And the door slammed shut.


	8. Revealed

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: I'll give you some bonus points anyway. Isn't that good of me? I know! I'm SOOOO good!**

* * *

Galinda didn't even realize how far she ran until she found herself by Suicide Canal. Despite its namesake, it was really quite beautiful. Green grass grew on both sides of the canal, making it the perfect picnic spot. A beautiful, stone white bridge connected both sides, providing easy access to both sides. Looking out, Galinda could clearly see the art and science buildings, as well as the tennis court. She looked down at the clear water, watching as her reflection gazes back at her.

She looked like a hot mess. Her eyes were red and puffy, her mascara was running a bit, and her hair looked frazzled. She _felt_ frazzled and confused. All she wanted was a normal college life being the most popular girl in the school. She wanted the prince to be her boyfriend and she wanted to eventually marry him.

Pretty soon, her thoughts were consumed by the prince. The more she thought about it, the faker their relationship looked. Sure, they went on fun dates and enjoyed each other's company, but something was missing. Galinda thought about what it was.

Passion.

That's what they were missing. She knew that they lacked the necessary chemistry to make their relationship work the day he kissed her in the library. Though the kiss itself was amazing, she didn't feel the spark she expected to feel.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that her relationship with Fiyero probably wouldn't have lasted. And their break-up could have gone much worse. Even though her heart was broken, she knew it would heal. Probably not as soon as she would like, but it would still heal.

Her thoughts then drifted to her roommate. She felt bad for snapping at the green girl the way she did. Not enough to go back and apologize to her just yet, but bad nonetheless. Deep down, she knew it wasn't her fault. If the roles were reversed, would people believe that she was talking to the ghost of a dead, blonde girl?

Sighing, Galinda walked across the bridge to the other side of the canal. She took a long walk to clear her head and when she felt better, she decided to go back to her room and try to speak with Elphaba.

"Hello?" she called when she slowly entered her vacant room.

No answer.

"Elphie, are you here?" _Where else could she be?_ "Elphaba, I'm sorry for what I said before. Can we please talk?"

Still no response.

"Elphaba, I came back to apologize to you! The least you can do is stop ignoring me."

Elphaba still didn't say anything.

"Fine! Be that way! You know, for someone who is technically fifty-nine years old, you're acting like a child!"

"Fiyero came by," came a soft whisper.

Galinda turned around and found Elphaba sitting on her desk, her feet resting on the chair. It was clear that she was still upset with the blonde, but was ready to talk for a bit. "He did?"

Elphaba nodded. "He did. He stopped by while you were gone."

"How do you know?"

"He knocked on the door and I opened it. I wasn't visible, just in case he could see me. He looked upset and he really wanted to talk to you."

The blonde slowly sat down on her bed, waiting for her to continue.

"I made myself visible and tried to get him to notice me. Nothing I did worked. I was completely invisible to him. Then I had an idea. I wrote a spell on a piece of paper and slowly slid it into his hand. He seemed pretty freaked out by that alone, and even more so when he read the spell. I handed him another paper telling him to read the spell out loud. When he did…"

"What kind of spell was it?"

"A revealing spell."

"But… Fiyero doesn't have any magic."

"Non-magic people can still perform spells. It's just not as powerful. Anyway, when he said the spell, he looked up at me and gasped."

"He saw you?"

Elphaba nodded. "He wasn't looking directly through me. He was actually looked _at_ me."

"Then what happened?"

Elphaba was silent for a moment. "You… you said you didn't tell Fiyero about me?"

Galinda shook my head. "Why?"

"Because… he knew my name. He called me 'Elphaba'."

 _Elphaba was left alone. She knew that if she could cry, she would be sobbing at the moment. She couldn't believe her only friend had left her like that. She knew the blonde had a right to be angry, but her words still hurt her._

The rumors are right. You are a freak.

 _Elphaba let out a quiet, yet frustrated, sound as she walked over to the window and rested her elbows against the sill. She didn't know why she was so upset. Galinda wasn't the first person who had offered to help her. She probably wouldn't be the last. But something about the blonde was special and caught Elphaba's attention._

 _"Galinda?"_

 _The ghost turned, hearing someone knock at the door. The voice sounded faintly familiar, and Elphaba froze. "Raal?" she whispered._

 _"Galinda, are you in there? It's me, Fiyero. We need to talk."_

 _Fiyero. Raal's son. He was here. He was looking for Galinda. Going over to the door, she opened it._

 _The prince opened his mouth to greet the blonde, and was surprised when he didn't see her. "Glin?" he asked, stepping into the room, walking right through Elphaba._

 _Elphaba looked over her shoulder at him before closing the door. She didn't close it hard, but the prince still jumped, clearly not expecting the door to seemingly close on its own._

 _"Okay… this is weird," the prince muttered to himself._

 _"Not the meanest thing I've heard, so I'll take it," Elphaba said with a slight smile, although she knew the prince couldn't see or hear her._

 _"Galinda?" the prince called again._

 _Elphaba had to think of a way to get the prince to notice her. The least she could do for the blonde was prove to the prince that she wasn't crazy. He sat at the desk, clearly going to wait until she returned._

It must be nice to have someone who cares about you this much, _Elphaba thought. She shook her head. There was no use in dwelling on what might have been._

 _Instead, she focused on the prince. She noticed how his right leg was bouncing up and down as he sat, a characteristic she remembered Raal having. The more she studied him, the more she saw the similarities he shares with her past boyfriend. There were a few traits she didn't recognize, but she figured he probably got that from his mother._

 _Finally, she figured out a way to (at least) try to get the prince to notice her. She opened one of Galinda's notebooks and took out a pen. The prince heard the noise and looked down before jumping back, knocking over the chair and falling to the ground._

 _"Wha… what's going on?" he asked as he scooted back, away from the seemingly flying piece of paper._

 _He felt it being pressed into his hands and he looked down. The words 'Indica mihi' were written in large, neat letters. The prince blinked. What was going on? He looked up and saw another piece of paper floating over to him._

Say it aloud.

 _"Why?" he asked skeptically, still not knowing who he was talking to, or who was talking to him._

I promise you nothing bad will happen. I just need to show you something.

 _"Who are you?"_

I am a friend of Galinda's.

 _"Why can't I see you? Why aren't you speaking?"_

Those are questions I cannot answer just yet. Please, just say the spell.

 _"Spell? But… I don't have any magic."_

I know. The words have magic enough on their own. Just say it. Please.

 _The prince blinked and sighed. No matter what was going to happen, it couldn't be weirder than what was already going on. "Indica mihi," he said._

 _Slowly, before his eyes, he saw a form materializing in front of him. His eyes never left it as it came into view and he realized that it was a girl around his age with long, raven hair, a long black dress. But the feature that stuck with him the most was the fact that the girl was green._

 _"Sweet Lurline," he muttered._

 _The girl was kneeling in front of him, a shy smile on her face. He would have been lying to himself if he said that he wasn't scared, but the girl didn't look like she meant him any harm. Something about her was familiar, yet he knew he had never met her before. He would have remembered meeting a green girl._

 _"Elphaba?" he asked without thinking._

 _The green girl looked shocked. The prince knew her name? But how? Who told him about her? It definitely couldn't have been Raal, so was it Galinda? "How do you know my name?" she asked him._

 _The prince stared at her, watching as her lips wordlessly moved._

 _"Can you hear me?" the green girl asked, her face mimicking the confusion she saw on the prince's._

 _Fiyero was still silent. Figuring that he couldn't, Elphaba pointed to him, then to her ear, then to her chest._

 _"Can I hear you?" the prince translated and Elphaba nodded. "No."_

 _The green girl deflated a bit. She pointed to him, then tapped her head, then rested her hand on her chest before tilting her head to the side._

 _"How do I know who you are?"_

 _Elphaba nodded._

 _"I… I don't know," he answered. "So… you're a ghost?"_

 _Another nod._

 _"What are you doing here?"_

 _Elphaba simply shook her head and stood. She still didn't understand how Fiyero could know her name. She would have to ask Galinda about that when she came back…_ if _she came back._

 _Fiyero also stood and reached out his hand to touch her. His hand went right through her shoulder and he quickly pulled away. It felt like he had just stuck his hand through an icy, silk veil. "Elphaba," he whispered softly._

 _The ghost of the green girl gave him a small smile as the spell wore off and she disappeared from the prince's sight._

"So… he could only see you? He couldn't touch or hear you?" Galinda asked.

"From what I gathered. I'm still trying to figure out how he knows who I am."

"Do you think his father told him about you?"

"I doubt it. I'm pretty sure you don't tell your son about your dead ex-girlfriend."

"Then… I can't think of any other way he would know about you. Well… know your name, at least."

The two girls looked at each other in silence.

"I'm sorry. About you and Fiyero, I mean," Elphaba said, twirling a section of her hair around her finger.

"It's alright. I thought about it… and our relationship wouldn't have lasted very long, anyway. I'm sorry for yelling at you the way I did."

"It's alright."

Galinda still heard the hurt laced within her voice and looked around her room. Her eyes rested on the pink flower clip on her vanity and she smiled softly. She walked over and grabbed the flower before creating her magic aura. "You're not a freak, Elphaba."

Elphaba felt herself becoming corporeal and looked up. "What?"

"You're not a freak," she repeated as she placed the flower in her hair. "You're beautiful."

The green girl's lips twitched. "Thank you, Galinda."

"So… are we friends again?"

"Of course we're friends again. You're not going to request a room change, are you?"

"Of course not, Elphie."

The apparition smiled and the two shared a hug.

"Now… back to our plan to get that key," Galinda said as she gently pulled away.

"I think I might know where it is," Elphaba said, looking as though she was trying to remember something that was stored in the back of her mind for a while, collecting dust. "There's a hidden drawer behind one of the walls in the head's office."

"Is it behind something?"

"It's behind… a painting."

"Are there more than one paintings in the office?"

Elphaba nodded. "There are, but I don't remember which one its behind."

"You've been in the head's office before?"

"When you're the commotion-causing green girl, you tend to find yourself in trouble a lot with the head," Elphaba said, somewhat sheepishly.

Galinda gave her an amused look and shook her head. "At least we know it's behind a painting. I just have to sneak in there and check behind all the paintings."

"That's too risky. We need a way to narrow it down."

"Maybe…"

"What?"

"Maybe you could try to find out which painting is covering the secret drawer."

"Me?" Elphaba asked, pointing to herself. "How? I can't leave the room."

"Remember when I told you about attaching to me so you could leave the room?"

"You were serious about that?"

"Don't you want to leave and see how much the campus has changed?"

"Not particularly."

"I thought you wanted a change of scenery."

"I do, but…"

"But?"

Elphaba didn't finish her thought.

"You're not… scared, are you?"

"I've never left this room before. I've tried, but like I've told you before, there seems to be a barrier that's keeping me inside."

"Because you're somehow attached to the room. But maybe there's a way to detach you…" The blonde suddenly got an idea. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To the library."

Elphaba didn't have a chance to ask her follow-up question before the blonde bounced out of the room, closing the door behind her.


	9. Detach

"I need a book on ghosts, please," Galinda said when she reached the reference desk at the library.

The middle-aged librarian looked up. "Ghosts?"

"Yes."

"What about ghosts?"

"Anything and everything. It's for… a project."

The librarian nodded slowly and led the blonde through the shelves. She pulled out four books and handed them to the blonde. The blonde thanked her and checked the books out. She hurried back to her room, eager to go through the books with the green girl.

"Okay, Elphie. We have work to do!" she said as she entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Elphaba appeared on her bed, lying on her stomach as she rested her head on her hands. " _We_ have work to do?"

"Yes. I'm not reading four books on my own."

Elphaba looked over at Galinda with interest. "What did you get at the library?"

"Four books on ghosts. There has to be something on why you're trapped in the room."

"I knew that blissful, blonde brain of yours could come up with great solutions," Elphaba said with a grin, clearly impressed.

"Who said my brain was blissfully blonde?" Galinda asked, turning to the green girl.

"No one," the green girl smirked.

The blonde gave her a look and the ghost cackled. The two spent the next hour pouring over the books trying to find something. Galinda was almost at the end of her second book when she groaned, about to give up.

"There's nothing helpful in here," she said as she turned the page, but then something caught her eye. "Wait…" She read the page and looked up at the green girl. "Elphie, was this your room when you went here?"

Elphaba looked up. "Yes. This is the room I shared with Nessa."

"And… did you have a close relationship with your sister?"

"I… took care of her."

"But did you two share a sisterly bond?"

"Sisterly bond?"

"Mmhmm."

The ghost paused for a moment. She loved her sister very much. She had been completely devoted to her. But for some reason… it hadn't been enough. "The last time I saw Nessie was in this room. At least, it was the last time I saw her when I was alive."

Galinda perked up. "What happened?"

Elphaba shook her head and brought her knees up to her chest.

"Elphie, I think that might be the reason you're stuck here. In this room, I mean. Whatever happened between you and Nessa is keeping you here. If you tell me, it might release you."

"It's not really a day I like to remember."

"Elphaba, I'm your friend. You can tell me anything."

The green girl glanced at the blonde before slowly beginning to tell the story. "It was the morning I was leaving for the Emerald City. We had been arguing over me going the previous night and it continued into the following morning."

 _"You can't just leave me! You can't abandon me!"_

"Basically, she didn't want me to go to the Emerald City, especially without her. She accused me of being selfish."

 _"The only reason you're here is to take care of me!"_

"She said that if I left her, I would be dead to her and she would hate me for the rest of her life. At least the first part came true."

 _"If you leave, Elphaba, don't expect me to ever be glad to see you again."_

"Elphaba…" Galinda whispered, noticing how calm the green girl was while telling the story.

"I just wish… that there was a way for me to tell her that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for abandoning her and I'm sorry I wasn't there for her. I tried my best, but it was never enough."

 _"Go! Just go! I never want to see your face again! I hate you!"_

"What was never enough?"

"Everything was my fault and I tried my best to fix it, but I couldn't."

"Elphaba, what was your fault?"

"That my sister is… the way she is."

"What do you mean?"

The apparition was silent, and for a clock-tick, Galinda wasn't sure she was going to answer her. Then she heard a soft whisper, "When… when my mother was pregnant with Nessa, my father began to worry that the new baby might come out…"

"Green," Galinda finished softly.

Elphaba nodded, avoiding the blonde's gaze. "He was so worried that he made my mother chew milk flowers day and night."

"Didn't he know what those would do?" Galinda asked, knowing how powerful milk flowers were.

"Whether he did or not is a mystery to me. But regardless, it made my mother go into labor too early and when Nessa was born, her legs were all tangled. That's why she's stuck in that wheelchair. And my mother… lost so much blood that… she never woke up. None of that would have happened if not for me."

"But… but that was the milk flowers' fault, not yours," Galinda said softly, making Elphaba corporeal so she could talk her hand.

"That's why I took care of her. I practically raised her. Every time she needed something, she came to me. Our father didn't take care of her. At least, not the way I did. He only showered her with gifts and showed her off to everyone. She was his little princess. I was his big burden. I tried to prove to him that I wasn't completely useless. The only reason I came to Shiz was because Nessa got in."

"Did Nessa know that you felt like this?"

"Of course not. I could never tell her."

"Why not?"

"Because it wouldn't have changed anything. She still would be the perfect child and I would still be the perfect disaster."

"You must have loved her, since you took care of her so thoughtfully."

"Of course I loved her. She's my little sister."

"Elphaba, please don't get offended by me asking this, but… did your sister love you?"

Elphaba glanced up at her.

"I mean, did she love you the same way you loved her? If you were in trouble or needed help with anything, would she help you in the best way she could?"

The green girl thought for a moment. She assumed Nessa had loved her. At least… she hoped she did. She certainly didn't help her the same way she did. Elphaba never needed help washing up or getting dressed or reaching something that was just out of her reach.

"I… I think Nessa loved me."

"Why aren't you positive?"

"She didn't say it very much."

"You said that was the last time you saw her when you were alive. You saw her after you died?"

Elphaba nodded. "After I died, I woke up here. I saw Nessa still angry with me for leaving and becoming a wanted fugitive. I wondered why she was still here on her own, then I saw some of her friends come in to check up on her. I guess she wanted to stay here on the off chance I returned. But I know she knew that after becoming a wanted fugitive, I wouldn't be returning." She paused briefly before continuing. "Then I saw her get the news that I had died. She was so angry and embarrassed. I remember her taking some of my essay papers and ripping them to shreds. She tore a few of my dresses as well. That same week, she moved out. I heard that she was going to stay with Madame Morrible in her private compartment so she could help her. I never saw her again after that. I…" She bit her lip, but forced the rest of the sentence out. "I never got a chance to apologize to her."

"Elphie, I think I know the reason why you're stuck here in this room."

"What is it?"

"I think you're still haunted, for lack of a better term, by what happened between you and your sister. If you let go of that guilt, you might be able to leave the room."

"It's not that easy," Elphaba said softly. "You don't understand, Galinda. I was sent here with one purpose, to look after Nessarose, and I _failed_."

"You didn't fail her, Elphie," the blonde said comfortingly. "You took care of her for her entire life. From the way you said it, it sounds like you practically raised her."

"I never should have left her. I never should have gone to the Emerald City in the first place."

"Why did you want to go to the Emerald City?"

"Because the Wizard invited me. I felt that I would be able to prove to my father, to everyone, that I could be great. That I wasn't a waste of space. That I was more than the green freak." Her face darkened. "But I was wrong."

"What would have happened if things worked out for you?"

Elphaba paused. "I don't know. Maybe I would have gotten my father's approval. Maybe Nessa wouldn't have been ashamed to be related to me. But I guess we'll never know now. There's no use dwelling on the past."

"Elphie, what happened isn't your fault. Your sister's condition, your mother's death, the Wizard, none of that is your fault. You can't blame yourself for those things."

"But if I hadn't been born…"

"Elphaba, that's ridiculous!" the blonde exclaimed, a bit harsher than she intended. The green ghost winced, but Galinda didn't back down. "You're acting like you could have controlled how you were born. That's not the way it works. You can't keep blaming yourself." Galinda then got an idea. "And I can prove it to you."

"How?"

"I can show you how happy Nessarose is now. How successful Munchkinland is."

"And how do you propose to do that? I can't leave the room and I'm pretty sure you can't bring Nessa here."

"I told you how you could leave. You have to forgive yourself. Elphaba, there's nothing more you can do about anything now, so why are you still holding onto that guilt."

"You make it sound so easy."

"I never said anything about it being easy."

"I can't just forget what happened."

"I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to try and recognize that the things that are tying you to this room aren't your fault."

Elphaba still looked wary.

"Start small. Think about the last time you saw your sister."

Elphaba closed her eyes and made a noise that could have been a sigh if she could breathe. She pictured herself in the room, arguing with her sister. Her form shuddered, and Galinda braced herself for the magic that was sure to follow.

"You couldn't control your sister's actions or how she would have reacted."

 _"Go! Just go!"_

"I was selfish," Elphaba whispered.

"You were not selfish. You wanted to follow your own heart for once in your life. She should have recognized that and supported you."

 _"I never want to see your face again! I hate you!"_

"I just wanted to make her proud."

"I know you did, Elphaba. Just take a few deep breaths and try to let it go."

Elphaba opened her eyes and glared at the blonde. "Right. I'll just inhale deeply and breathe out all of my problems."

"Right. Sorry," the blonde said sheepishly. "But you know what I mean."

"I understand the concept," Elphaba said as she closed her eyes again. She remembered the last time she saw her sister and tried to release her guilt. It was hard, but suddenly, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. She felt lighter in a sense (metaphorically speaking). She opened her eyes and smiled at the blonde. She still felt bad for leaving her sister and for the final moment they shared together, but she no longer felt it weighing down on her.

"How do you feel?" Galinda asked.

"I feel… better. I still feel upset, but I don't feel guilty about what happened."

"Do you want to test out that theory?" She got up and opened the door.

Elphaba followed her, pausing right in front of the door. She slowly stuck her hand out and when she didn't feel the barrier, closed her eyes and stepped through the door.

"Elphie?"

"Yes?"

"You can open your eyes now."

Elphaba slowly opened her eyes and looked around in surprise. She was in the hallway. She hurriedly roamed up and down, giggling madly.

Galinda watched with interest. She had never pictured the green girl as the giggling-type, but she supposed Elphaba had the right to be extra excited, considering she was just freed from forty years of captivity.

"I'm free!" the ghost exclaimed giddily. She let out a sound that sounded like a sigh. "This feels great."

"I'm glad, Elphie," Galinda said quietly, then went back into the room, closing the door behind her. Elphaba didn't follow her; instead, she continued to roam up and down the halls. Galinda heard voices in the hall and got worried for a moment, but then remembered that she was the only person who could see and hear the ghost.

"Glin?"

"Hmm?"

"Someone's coming down the hall."

The blonde immediately panicked. "Is it Greyling?"

"No."

She let out a sigh. "Who is it, then?"

Someone knocked on the door and both girls tensed. Galinda quickly got up and answered the door, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw who it was.

"Hi, Glin."

"Fiyero, um… hi."

"Can we… talk?"

"I suppose." It hit the blonde that she hadn't spoken to Fiyero since they broke up. She wanted to make up with him, but knew it would be incredibly awkward. She invited him in and closed the door behind him, looking at the green girl.

Elphaba didn't take her eyes off of the prince. She watched his every move as he stepped into the room and turned to face the blonde.

"First," Fiyero began. "I want to apologize to you."

"It's alright," the blonde said softly, brushing a golden lock of hair behind her ear.

"No, it's not. I should have trusted you."

"I understand why you didn't. I don't think you were expecting me to let you in on my secret without me telling you."

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Galinda glanced over at Elphaba, who shrugged.

"Is Elphaba here, too?"

Galinda nodded and created her aura.

"Hi, Elphaba," the prince said with a small smile as Elphaba came into view.

Elphaba smiled back and gave him a shy wave.

"You're more… visible than last time."

"My magic makes her corporeal," Galinda explained. "So… are you ready?"

"How long is this story?" Fiyero asked as his ex-girlfriend led him to her bed to sit down.

"I can give you the short version, but it's a lot to take in."

Fiyero listened patiently as Galinda told him the story. Occasionally, he would look over at Elphaba, who was sitting on the other side of the blonde in silence. He listened, occasionally asked questions, and paid close attention to what the blonde was saying.

"Wow…" he said when Galinda finished. "You were right. That is a lot to take in."

"Yeah," the blonde huffed. "It is."

"You can stop the spell now, Glin," Elphaba said.

Fiyero looked up at her in shock, and the two girls immediately realized that he had heard her.

"It must be because you're corporeal," Galinda said, but stopped the spell and the green girl disappeared from the prince's sight, but not from the blonde's. She slouched against the Vinkun's shoulder, taking deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" he asked, gently pulling her closer.

"Yeah," the blonde sighed as she gently pulled away. "Just a bit tired. The better I get at magic, the longer I can hold the spell without getting tired, but I still have some more practicing to do."

The prince nodded. "I should probably get going," he said as he stood and walked towards the door. "Glin?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if we could… start over. In our relationship, I mean."

Galinda bit her lip. She really wanted to start over with the prince, but she couldn't. "Fiyero, I love you," she said, allowing a smile to pull on the ends of her lips.

"I love you, too, Glin."

"But I'm not _in_ love with you. Actually… I don't think I ever was."

The prince's face fell. "What?"

"That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy our time together," she added hastily, not wanting to hurt his feelings, and knew she was failing at it. "I loved spending time with you, Fifi."

"When did you realize you weren't in love with me?" the prince asked evenly.

"When we kissed," the blonde admitted softly. "I… I never felt that special spark. I kept ignoring it, thinking that it would come later, but it never did. I'm really, _really_ sorry, Fifi." She reached out to hug the prince, but he stepped back. "Can't we at least still be friends?"

Fiyero didn't answer her and she reached for his hand, but he pulled away.

"Fiyero…"

"I have to go now," the prince said suddenly, and Galinda could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Goodbye, Galinda."

"Fiyero, wait!" the blonde called after Fiyero as he opened the door and hurried away, not even bothering to close it behind him. The blonde watched him go down the hall and disappear from sight. The first tear fell down her cheek as she closed the door.

"Galinda?" Elphaba whispered, gently placing her icy hand on the blonde's arm. "Are you alright?"

"I… I think I need to be alone right now."

Elphaba nodded and left the room. Once she was alone, Galinda finally allowed more tears to fall.

* * *

 **I won't update on the 25th, since it's Christmas, so the next chapter will be up on the 27** **th** **. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!**


	10. Seeing is Believing

**Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a nice holiday season!**

 **And now… as a special present, some FIYERABA!**

* * *

Elphaba managed to quickly catch up with the prince and followed him to his room. She just wanted to make sure he was okay. She didn't know why she was so drawn to him. It was probably because he was Raal's son, but she felt like there was more to it than that.

"Fiyero," she whispered, even though she knew he wouldn't be able to hear her.

The prince quickly reached his room and closed the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, he made his way over to his bed and sank down.

Elphaba sat down next to him, wanting nothing more than to talk to him, to tell him that he shouldn't be upset with Galinda.

To her surprise, Fiyero didn't lash out or trash his room. He simply sat on his bed, hugging his pillow to his chest as silent tears rolled down his cheek. Elphaba tried to wipe his tears away, but couldn't touch or feel him. She felt horrible for the ex-couple. She knew how much Galinda liked spending time with the Vinkun prince. It just wasn't fair… for either of them.

The green girl gently reached out and touched the prince's knee. Her hand went right through him without either of them feeling a thing. The prince then kicked his legs up into the bed, his feet going clear through Elphaba's side. The green girl immediately jumped to her feet and looked around the room. There had to be another way to get Fiyero to see her without that spell.

She remembered reading in one of the ghost books that ghosts could use their own energy, as well as the energy around them, to become visible to regular people. She never did it before because she had Glinda. Also, she didn't know she even could do that. After all, not like there were 'Ghost 101' lessons she could take.

She looked at the small lamp on the prince's desk and concentrated on combining its energy with her own. The light flickered, causing the prince to look up.

"What in Oz…" he muttered to himself, going over to investigate. His face was almost hovering over the lamp when the light exploded and he jumped back.

"Ozdamnit!" he heard a disembodied voice say and he whipped around.

That voice. It sounded familiar. "Elphaba? Are you… in here?"

The green girl appeared directly in front of him and he jumped back again. "Oz, I'm so sorry, Fiyero!"

It took the prince a clock-tick to realize that Elphaba had made the lamp explode, and that he could see and hear her. "How… how did you do that?"

"I was trying to use the lamp energy to make myself visible to you," the green girl said, staring at the small, bloody scratches under the prince's right eye and around his nose. "You're bleeding."

"How long have you been here?" he asked, going into the bathroom and wetting a cloth.

"Since you came back. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine."

"Are you and Galinda –"

"I don't want to talk about her."

"She really did enjoy spending time with you. She loved it, in fact."

"But she doesn't love _me_ ," the prince said miserably, gently wiping the blood from his face. The skin was a bit sore, but he knew it wouldn't leave a scar. He went into his medicine drawer and pulled out a small, thin tube of ointment.

"She _does_ love you," Elphaba argued as the prince put a pea-sized drop of the ointment under his eye and across his nose. "She just thinks the two of you wouldn't work out as a couple." Which was ironic, considering the fact that Galinda had declared that they would be married one day, but she would never tell him that.

"She doesn't love me the way I love her," Fiyero said as he closed the tube and placed it back in the drawer. He turned back to the green girl.

"Did you really love her?"

He narrowed his eyes. "How is that any of _your_ business?"

Elphaba recoiled slightly. "I'm just trying to help, Fiyero." Her form shifted and she vanished.

The prince was about to call out to her when he saw his floor lamp shaking. He turned on the light and Elphaba became visible again. "Did you just come to talk about Galinda?"

"No, actually, I didn't."

Fiyero softened a bit. "What else then?"

"I… I need you to… I want to… tell me about your father."

Fiyero blinked.

"How is he? Is he healthy? What's been going on with him?"

"You… you knew my father?"

Elphaba faltered. "Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen. Well… technically, I'm fifty-nine, but I don't think 'dead years' count."

"You went here with my father?" Fiyero asked, doing the math.

Elphaba nodded.

"He's fine. He's still healthy and going strong."

"And… your mother?"

"You knew my mother, too?"

"No, but it's obvious that he would have married someone else if you're here."

"She's fine. Her name is Amalie."

"Where is she from?"

"Ev. She's the youngest daughter of a very wealthy count."

"How did they meet?"

"She attended a ball my grandparents were hosting, and that's where she met my father. They both described it as 'love at first sight'."

Elphaba tried her best to keep the sad expression off her face. But it still managed to sneak its way in.

"How well did you know my father?"

"Well enough. We had a few classes together and… we dated."

The prince froze. "What?"

"We dated. Mind you, it was only for a short while, but still."

It took Fiyero a moment to realize that his father had dated someone before his mother. It was just very weird to him, since his parents always talk about how they were meant for each other and there was no one else in the world for them. "Oh," was all he managed to get out.

"I'm sorry. This must be really awkward for you," Elphaba said, realizing what was probably going through the prince's mind. "I… I should probably check up on Galinda now."

"Yeah," Fiyero hummed, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that this ghost had dated his father.

Elphaba smiled slightly, giving the prince a small wave before disappearing. She went back to her room and found the blonde sitting on the bed, flipping through a magazine. She didn't look upset anymore, but Elphaba decided to ask anyway.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, suddenly appearing next to the blonde.

Galinda jumped. "How did you get in here?"

Elphaba blinked and tilted her head slightly. "… Through the door…?"

"But… it didn't open…"

"Yes. I went _through the door_. I think you're still confused on this whole 'I'm dead. I don't have a body' thing."

The blonde opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out. Elphaba smirked, which the blonde quickly matched with a glare.

"So, who did you haunt while you were out?"

"Actually… I went to talk to Fiyero."

"You talked to him?"

"I did."

"He saw and heard you?"

"Mmhmm."

"Do I _want_ to know how you managed to make that work?"

"I think you would be very impressed."

"How, then?"

"I read in one of the books that ghost can use the energy around them to make themselves visible. So, I made Fiyero's lamp explode and –"

"You did _what_?"

"It was an accident." Elphaba waved it off. "And he's still alive."

Galinda muttered a curse under her breath. "I had to ask."

"It's my fault the two of you aren't together anymore and I wanted to try and make it right."

"It's not your fault, Elphie," the blonde tried to reassure the green girl. "You just helped me to realize something that I would have had to eventually realize on my own."

"But I still played a part in it. A very large part. None of this would have happened if not for me."

"Elphaba, don't start blaming yourself and feeling guilty. That's the last thing we need right now. Do you want to get trapped somewhere again?"

"No," Elphaba said softly, yet glumly.

"Good," the blonde said. "Wait… if you can make yourself corporeal on your own…"

"I never said I could make myself corporeal. I just said I made myself visible and hearable."

The blonde rolled her eyes and made Elphaba corporeal. "So… he saw you… as a ghost?"

"That would be my guess." She felt Galinda sit behind her and looked at her through the mirror. "Did you make me corporeal just so you could brush my hair?"

"Of course. Now, hold still."

"I really need to learn to control this," Elphaba muttered under her breath, but did as the blonde requested. Galinda fixed Elphaba's hair into a stylish ponytail, using numerous hair ties and bobby pins.

"You do realize that once you stop the spell, all of your clearly-hard work will be undone and my hair will come loose, right?"

"Must you spoil everything?" the blonde huffed.

Elphaba cackled and Galinda stopped her aura. Just as the green ghost had said, the bobby pins and hair ties fell onto the bed and her hair flowed loosely down her back.

"So, have you figured out a way to find the key?" Elphaba asked, running her hand through her hair.

"Actually, I have," the blonde said proudly. "We're learning revealing tracking spells soon. It's like a tracking spell, but –"

"I know what it is," Elphaba said. "I learned about it, too."

"Anyway, I was thinking that I could sneak into Greyling's office and use the spell to find the key."

"But in order to use the spell, you need to know what the object looks like. We don't know anything about the key's appearance."

"But we do have its size," Galinda pointed out. "Is that enough?"

"I don't know. But I suppose we'll find out. And may I offer a suggestion?"

"Would you still offer it if I said no?"

"Of course. Now, I suggest you work on transportation spells."

"But… we haven't learned those yet. And I heard they're very difficult and risky. Why would I need to learn them?"

"Galinda, you got very lucky with sneaking into the library basement. But the head's office is seriously more difficult. If you get in undetected, great. But getting out will be even trickier, especially if no one saw you go in, but notice you coming out. I would recommend mastering a transportation spell. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just one that could get you out of the office and at least outside the building."

"Who am I supposed to ask? I can't ask Greyling."

Elphaba's lips curled into a smile.

"Wait…"

"Yes?"

"Are you saying that… you'll teach me the spell?"

"I said no such thing. I think you just inferred that."

Galinda rolled her eyes. " _Elphaba_."

"Yes. Of course I'll teach you."

* * *

 **Yes, I know this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I really wanted to focus on the Elphaba/Fiyero moment.**


	11. Sneaky Part 2

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Some things go according to plan… just not the plan it was expected to follow. *Smirk***

* * *

"Miss Galinda, I have noticed that you've been progressing very well in your magic studies," Greyling said as she ushered Galinda into her office and offered her a seat.

"Thank you, Madame," Galinda smiled as she sat down.

"Where did you learn to perform spells like that?"

"I've been studying very hard… and have read ahead in my books." It was only a half-lie, since Elphaba had made her study her magic books whenever she was in the room not doing anything else.

"It's not every day a dedicated student such as yourself walks through our hallowed halls. Well done, Miss Galinda."

Dedicated. That's one way of describing how Elphaba had woken her up at the crack of dawn every morning for the past week and a half to practice the spell. At first, she was exhausted and cranky and wanted nothing more than to teleport Elphaba all the way to Quox. "Thank you, Madame."

"Well, talent like yours shouldn't be wasted, dearie. I would like to move onto more advanced spells in our private lessons. And I would also like to remove you from the class with the other students."

"Remove me from the class?" Galinda repeated, her eyes widening.

"Yes, dearie. You are extremely gifted, and you shouldn't be held back by everyone else."

"But… I like the class."

"I understand, but you could be so great. With magic like yours, the sky's the limit. There would be so many opportunities for you. You would make so much… good."

"May I… have some more time to think about it?"

Greyling paused, but nodded. "I can give you until the end of the week."

"Thank you, Madame," Galinda said as she nodded to the head and quickly left the office.

It felt so good to get out of that office. She hated being in there. It felt like she was being watched from all angles, under the prying eyes of people she couldn't even see. She wondered if there were also ghosts in the office. She would have been able to see them, right? Or was that just because of the connection she shared with Elphaba?

"How was class?" the green girl asked as soon Galinda came in.

"Long and stressful. I'm pretty sure I failed my linquification quiz, and Greyling called me into her office."

"Why did she do that?"

"She said she was proud of me for excelling in magic."

"Did you tell her why?"

"Yes, Elphaba. I told her that the ghost of a dead girl living in my room has been tutoring me in magic. That is _exactly_ what I told her."

"I see my sarcasm has been rubbing off on you."

"I had sarcasm before I met you."

"Probably, but it probably wasn't as good as it is now."

Galinda rolled her eyes. "Anyway, she said that she sees great things for me and that she… wants to pull me out of the regular magic class."

"What?"

The blonde nodded. "And she wants to accelerate my studies in the private seminar."

"She's trying to separate you from everyone else."

"It's just in magic class."

"It starts out with just that. Then she'll try to completely alienate you from everyone else." Elphaba paused before continuing. "Do you… want to accelerate in magic?"

"I mean, my parents do."

"But what about you? Is that what you want?"

"I want to make my parents happy."

"Would that make you happy?"

"I don't know. But she gave me until the end of the week to decide on what I really want."

Elphaba hummed and looked out the window. She heard Galinda put some things on her desk and flop down on her bed. "We should practice the spell more."

"Haven't I practiced enough?" the blonde groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

"No," Elphaba said touched the blonde's bare arm.

"Your hand is freezing."

"I don't have a body to lock in heat."

Galinda set her jaw, but slowly pushed herself up. "As soon as we're done, I'm going to take a nap and you are going to keep yourself occupied for a few hours."

"I love how confident you sounded. Especially with that last part," Elphaba chuckled. "Now, go into the bathroom and try to teleport yourself back to your bed."

The blonde marched into the bathroom.

"Try it this time with the door closed."

She closed the door and chanted the spell. She closed her eyes, feeling herself becoming lighter and moving. She felt something wobbly beneath her feet and when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on her bed.

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Elphaba admitted, crossing her arms. "But I would still call this a success. Now, let's try something harder. This will be what you'll do when you get the key from Greyling's office. I want you to teleport outside."

"Outside?"

The green girl nodded. "Just…" she glanced out the window. "Just to the statue."

"That's pretty far," Galinda said as she sat down and slid off her bed.

"It just means that you'll have to focus on getting to the statue. You can't let your mind wander. That's when this spell becomes dangerous."

"What happens if I don't get it right?"

"Worse case scenario, half of you ends up at the statue, and the other half ends up Oz-knows-where."

"That's comforting."

"You'll be fine," Elphaba said with an encouraging smile. "Just really stay focused."

The blonde took a deep breath and concentrated on the spell. She repeated it over and over again, feeling the same reaction as before. She pictured the statue in her mind and tried to appear there, but it was just too much energy. She stopped the spell, sinking to her hands and knees.

"Galinda?" Elphaba asked, concern filling her voice. "Are you –"

"I don't feel so well," the blonde said, then staggered to her feet, one hand flying to cover her mouth, the other pressed against her stomach. In a flash of blonde, white, and blue, she ran into the bathroom and threw up.

"I'm sorry," Elphaba whispered as Galinda tried to catch her breath.

The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but ended up throwing up again. Groaning, she sat back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I can't make you corporeal to touch anything right now."

Elphaba looked up at the bathroom light and focused her energy. As the lights flickered, Galinda noticed Elphaba becoming more visible.

"I can't stay like this for long, but I can get you something from your fridge."

"I have a canteen of lemon seltzer water."

Elphaba nodded and hurried away. She quickly returned with the item in question and waited for Galinda to finish ejecting whatever was left in her stomach before handing it to her.

"Well, we figured out what happens if you break your concentration on a really hard spell," Galinda said as she drank.

"You'll get it soon, Glin," Elphaba said as she returned to her ghostly state.

The blonde slowly pushed herself to her feet and shuffled out of the bathroom, back to her bed. She flopped down with a sigh, only her upper body making it onto the bed. She felt Elphaba's cold, ghostly hands gently take her legs and push the rest of her body onto the bed.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Can you get my stomach to turn right-side up again?"

Elphaba chuckled softly. "Just get some rest, Glin."

The soft snore told her that Galinda had already intended to do just that. The ghost smiled as she slipped out of the room and roamed through halls, then got an idea of what she could do.

* * *

Hours later, Galinda woke up feeling a bit better. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Elphie?" she croaked out, then coughed.

Elphaba appeared on the bed next to her. "Yes?"

The blonde tried to clear her throat, but found that it made it hurt even more. "W-Water…"

Elphaba looked over and saw a pink water bottle on the blonde's desk. She got up and retrieved the water bottle, hurriedly giving it to her friend.

"I found out where the key is," Elphaba said as Galinda sipped her water.

"Where is it?"

"It's behind the large painting of the Emerald City Palace behind the head's desk."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it. I went in the walls and saw the key hanging from the back of the frame."

"You were _in_ the walls?"

"Again, I'm a ghost. I can do that."

"Right. Of course."

"So now that you know where it is, you just have to get it."

"You couldn't get it?"

"I think it would have been suspicious to see a random key floating out of the head's office, don't you agree?"

Galinda gave the ghost a withered look. "I'm still sick, Elphie. You have to be nice to me."

"So, the plan is that you'll make yourself invisible and go into the office, get the key, teleport outside, and remain invisible until you're back here."

"And then I'll do a cartwheel while spinning on my head."

"You'll get extra points for creativity."

Galinda rolled her eyes. "I'll do my best."

Elphaba placed a cold, transparent hand on top of the blonde's. "I know you will."

Galinda was back on her feet the next day. She asked to go to the restroom during the sorcery seminar, but instead, she made her way to the head's office. When she was around the corner, she made sure that no one was looking and she muttered the invisibility spell. She disappeared from the naked eye and quickly walked down to the head's office. She was very grateful for wearing flats that day. The last thing she wanted was for there to be disembodied footsteps.

Elphaba was using the bathroom light to make herself corporeal to read a book when Galinda returned. "Did you get it?" the ghost asked as soon when she heard the door open and close.

"I'm fine, Elphie. Thanks for asking."

Elphaba turned around and looked at the blonde. "You're not bleeding and you don't look like me, so you're fine. Did you get the key?"

The blonde went into her pocket and pulled out the key. "Yes."

"Did you use the transportation spell?"

The blonde paused. "Yes." But that was all she said.

Elphaba let it go as she got the book. "Try it out," she said, placing it on the bed.

"How do we know something awful won't happen?"

"Until you try, you'll never know."

Galinda gave the ghost a withered look. "Close the windows and curtains. We don't want anyone seeing this."

Elphaba nodded and closed the window and curtains. Galinda sighed as she pressed the key into the cutout pages. The keyhole glowed for a bit and Galinda held her breath, waiting for something to make a loud noise of blow up in her face. But instead, after glowing for a bit, the light died and the book opened.

"You did it!" Elphaba exclaimed in triumph and Galinda exhaled loudly.

"Thank Oz that was it! I was expecting something dramatic to happen. What exactly are we looking for in here?"

"There are five powerful magical objects hidden around Oz. Combined, all five objects have the power to destroy the Grimmerie."

"And where exactly are we going to find these objects? And what are they?" She turned the page and a tan paper stuck out. Carefully opening it, the blonde immediately recognized the paper as a map of Oz. As she held it, the different countries began to glow in different colors. When the glowing faded, a picture of the items and where they were located appeared on the map.

"The Amulet of Applerue in Munchkinland, the Scepter of Settica in the Gillikun, the Mirror of Moure in the Vinkus, the Orb of Ovvels in the Quadling Country, the Crown of Crowlaws in the Glikkus… this sounds like a wild goose chase," Galinda said as she read the names of the objects. "And how do we know that they're still there?"

I don't think the map would say where they are if they had disappeared," Elphaba pointed out.

"And we have t go all over Oz to find these objects? In case you've forgotten, Elphaba, I'm a student here! I can't just leave whenever I please."

"You're just going to have to find an excuse to leave."

"Like what!?"

A knock at the door stopped Elphaba from answering and she immediately disappeared. Galinda carelessly threw the book and key into her closet and opened the door.

"Madame Greyling!" she gasped, very thankful she had hidden the book and key.

"Miss Galinda, I apologize for coming to your room, but this news simply couldn't wait," Greyling said, pulling out a green envelope and handing it to the blonde.

"What's this?"

"I have written to Queen Devana about your extraordinary magical gifts and my dear, she wishes to meet you."

"You wrote to the queen… on my behalf?" Galinda asked in surprise.

"Of course, child. Your gifts deserved to be shared with the rest of Oz. I hope you don't mind that I took the step forward."

"Oh, of course not, Madame. I… thank you."

"Your train ticket is included. You leave on the first train this weekend," the head said, smiling a little too sweetly as she hurried away.

Galinda closed the door and turned to the green girl, who had just reappeared. "Elphie, did you hear? I get to –"

"I heard," Elphaba nodded, and Galinda saw her face grow dark. "Looks like you have your excuse to leave campus."

* * *

 **Here's the part where we get history repeating itself, but with a little twist. *Cackle***


	12. One Short Day

**Hey, everyone! Sorry for the little delay! My new year was very busy! Happy 2018!**

 **iDragonSpyro (Guest): You'll see in this chapter.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Ahh! I fixed those two mistakes! Thank you for letting me know!**

* * *

Galinda was ecstatic as she packed for her trip to the Emerald City. She couldn't believe she was actually going to meet the Queen of Oz. What was she going to wear? What was she going to say? What spells would the queen ask her to perform? So many questions ran through her mind, and it only made her more nervous.

"Elphaba, can you get my yellow sundress?" she called from the bathroom.

She didn't hear anything, but figured Elphaba would still get it. When she came out, she saw that her yellow dress was still in her closet and looked around for the green girl. "Elphie?"

"Yes?"

"Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you get my dress?"

Elphaba appeared next to the blonde. "Because you shouldn't go to the Emerald City."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous."

"Elphaba, I don't know how the city was when you were alive, but now, it's one of the safest major cities in Oz."

"I'm not talking about the city itself. I'm talking about… going to see the queen."

"Why?" Galinda turned around. "You think that what happened to you will happen to me?"

"I'm saying it's a possibility. I've been feeling like you're reliving what happened to me, especially with Greyling. She even looks a bit like Morrible."

Galinda rolled her eyes. "You're being paranoid."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are. Things don't happen the same way twice."

"But history _does_ repeat itself." Elphaba made herself corporeal and gently took the blonde's hands. "I just don't want you to get hurt… or worse."

Galinda was silent for a moment. "Okay." She went over to her suitcase and began taking her clothes out.

"What are you doing?"

"Chasing rabbits. Elphaba, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Why are you unpacking?"

"Because I'm not going to the Emerald City."

"Galinda, that's not what I meant." She snatched a dress from the blonde and put it back in her suitcase. "I'm just saying that when you get to the palace, you have to be careful. If the queen is anything like what the Wizard was, she'll make it seem like she's helping you, but really, she's using you."

The blonde worked her jaw as she slowly began to repack. "I've never been to the Emerald City before." She turned to the green ghost. "What's it like?"

"I haven't been there in forty years."

"It couldn't have changed very much. Just tell me what you remember."

"Well… I remember… the splendor," Elphaba admitted softly. "I remember how fast-paced everything was. There were many tall buildings, taller than most trees I had seen. Everything was so different and… green." She smiled softly. "I felt like I had found the place where I belonged." Then her face darkened. "But I was wrong."

"I'm sorry, Elphie."

The green ghost shook her head. "Enough about me. This is your special trip." She forced a small smile. "And I'm happy you'll get to experience the city."

Galinda smiled back. "My parents are so thrillified for me. They said that this was their dream come true for me."

"Is it _your_ dream come true, too?"

"I mean… it's a wonderful opportunity that's not just granted to anyone."

"But do you want it?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"You."

Galinda sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. This is… I can't pass up this opportunity. No matter what happened to you, I don't want it to spoil my fun."

Elphaba recoiled and Galinda immediately regretted what she had just said.

"Oh Oz! I'm sorry, Elphie. I didn't mean that. I just meant –"

"I know," Elphaba said softly. "And you're right. What happened to me most likely won't happen to you, so I should stop worrying and start telling you the best restaurants."

Galinda smiled softly as Elphaba began to tell her the best places to eat and shop in the city from what she remembered.

"There's also this very nice ice cream parlor a few blocks away from the palace. They seemingly have every flavor in Oz."

"We must get some while we're there."

"I'm sorry… we?"

Galinda realized her mistake. "Sorry. It's just… with you here, talking to me, it almost seems like your not…"

"Dead."

"Sometimes I forget."

"Sometimes I wish I could forget."

Both girls were silent for a moment, then Elphaba began to tell more Emerald City stories. Galinda tried to listen and pay attention, but she couldn't stop thinking about what Elphaba had just said.

 _Sometimes I wish I could forget._

"Elphaba?"

"Hmm?"

"You wish you could forget that you're dead?"

Elphaba turned to face the blonde. "Forget I said that."

"I can't."

The ghost wrung her hands. "Most people say that ghost have no concept of time, but that's just not true. If anything, time passes even slower for us. The years of being alone and trapped in this room seemed endless."

"And then you met me," Galinda added hopefully.

"Yes, but now what? Now we go to the Emerald City and you see the queen while I pray the same thing doesn't happen to you."

"It will give us a chance to find the Grimmerie."

Elphaba perked up a bit. "I… didn't think about that."

"You've forgotten the whole reason you started speaking to me?" the blonde chuckled.

"A lot has happened since then."

"Yes. A lot has."

Galinda finished packing and got ready for bed. She was about to turn off her light when someone knocked on the door.

"You don't think its Greyling again?" Elphaba asked.

"Hopefully not," Galinda whispered, then answered the door. "Oh. Hi, Fifi."

"Hi, Glin," Fiyero said, stepping in as Galinda stepped aside. "Is Elphaba here?"

Before Galinda had a chance to create her aura, the lights flickered slightly and Elphaba appeared. "Hi, Fiyero."

"Hi. I… um… just came to say good luck to you, Glin. I know what a huge deal this is for you."

"Thanks, Fifi," the blonde blushed.

"And I… got you these," he said, handing the blonde a bouquet of poppies.

Elphaba stared at the flowers. "Poppies," she whispered.

Both living people turned. "What, Elphie?" Galinda blinked.

The green girl shook her head. "Nothing."

She wasn't convinced, but she turned back to the prince. "Thank you, Fifi. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome." He nervously ran his hand through his hair. "I… I should go now. Have fun in the Emerald City. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back."

"I will. Bye," Galinda smiled as she watched the prince hurry away and closed the door behind him.

Elphaba watched the blonde as she sniffed the flowers and giggled. She hugged herself and disappeared.

"Okay, Elphie. What's wrong? And don't say 'nothing'," Galinda said as she filled an empty canteen with water and placed the flowers inside.

"Fiyero's father gave me poppies before I went to the Emerald City," came the disembodied voice.

The blonde froze. "And you think Fiyero giving me poppies is a sign?"

"No. It's just… weird."

Galinda didn't say anything else about the flowers and got into bed. "Goodnight, Elphie."

"Goodnight, Glin."

* * *

Galinda couldn't sit still in her private compartment on the train to the Emerald City. She was just too excited. Elphaba sat beside her, smiling softly.

"I must see everything!" the blonde continued to ramble. "There's just so much to do."

"You don't see the queen until tomorrow, so we have the rest of the day to see the city."

"One short day."

"It doesn't have to be short."

The blonde looked over at the green girl and gently took her hand, now well-accustomed to the cold feeling against her skin. Elphaba looked down at their joint hands before giving the blonde a small grin.

"Things will be different this time, Elphie. I promise."

"I know," Elphaba said softly as the train pulled into the Emerald City Station.

The hotel was only a short walk from the train station, and Galinda only set her bags down in the room before hurrying back outside.

"We only have one short day. We don't want to miss a thing."

"You should also get into the habit of not speaking to me… at least not with other people around," Elphaba said.

The blonde was about to ask why, then remembered that she was the only person who could see the ghost.

Most of the things Elphaba had mentioned were still in the city, including the ice cream place.

"This is the best ice cream I've ever had," Galinda said to the man behind the counter, though Elphaba knew who she was really speaking to.

"I'm glad you like it, Miss," the man said with a smile.

Galinda and Elphaba toured the city well into the late evening. The blonde was clearly in awe of all the splendor.

"I want to live here," she confessed sleepily as she got into bed that night.

"The city is very beautiful, especially at night," Elphaba admitted as she looked out the window. "I remember when I wanted to call it home."

"And tomorrow… we get to meet the queen," Galinda yawned, ignoring Elphaba's last statement.

"Are you nervous?"

"Mmm… a little."

"You'll be fine, Glin. You're very skilled in magic."

"I had an amazing tutor."

"I thought you didn't like Greyling."

"I don't mean Greyling, silly. I meant you."

Before Elphaba had a chance to respond, Galinda was asleep. "Goodnight, Glin," she said softly before disappearing.

* * *

"Queen Devana will see you now."

Galinda looked up at the guard and stood. She followed him down the long, emerald corridors to the large, double doors leading to the throne room. The blonde played with the hem of her light blue dress until she felt her hand being taken and squeezed. She smiled softly and lightly squeezed back as the doors opened.

Galinda gasped softly as she entered the throne room. She was sure she had never seen so many shades of green in her life. And everything was so shiny.

She shifted her gaze and her eyes fell on the queen. She was a middle-aged woman with dark grey hair and a slightly plump body type. She looked as regal as Galinda had pictured her, and she instantly felt scared.

"You'll be fine," she heard Elphaba, who was remaining invisible from her sight, whisper in her ear.

Gulping, the blonde put on her best smile and dipped into a deep curtsy before the queen. "Your Majesty."

Queen Devana was silent for a moment. "Leave us, General."

"Of course, Your Majesty," the guard who led Galinda inside said with a bow before exiting.

The queen rose from her throne and slowly approached the blonde. Galinda took a small step back. "Your Majesty?"

"I've heard a great deal about you, Miss Galinda," the queen said in a kind tone, making the blonde relax a bit. "Madame Greyling has written to me about your extraordinary magical talents."

"She's been tutoring me privately at Shiz University."

"I know. You are very lucky to have her as a teacher." She went back up to her throne and sat back down. "Now, let's see some of your magic."

Galinda nodded and performed some of the spells she knew. She made a few objects in the throne room levitate. She made things grow and shrink and change color. The queen looked very pleased with the display, and even applauded afterward.

"That was wonderful, Miss Galinda," she nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am," the blonde said with a smile.

"But perhaps you would show me something more… challenging."

"Challenging?"

"Madame, the book!"

The doors opened and Galinda gasped at who she saw. "Madame Greyling!"

"Hello, Miss Galinda," the head smiled.

"But… you… what… how…"

"I was thinking… in order to show your skill, we think you should perform a spell from this book."

"What is that?" Galinda asked, although she had a very good clue.

"The Grimmerie. The ancient book of spells and enchantments," the head said.

At that moment, even though she couldn't see her, Galinda was certain she and Elphaba were thinking the same thing.

Madame Greyling handed Galinda the book, and she immediately felt the power it contained. It was almost overwhelming. Her first instant was to run with the book, but for some reason, she didn't.

"I can't…" the blonde whispered.

"Of course you can. I've just seen what you're capable of."

"Perform a spell, Galinda," Greyling demanded, and Galinda detected something she had never heard in her teacher's voice.

The blonde opened the book and squinted down at the small writing. "The writing… it's all funny… I can't read it."

"Oh no," Elphaba whispered. "Galinda, we have to leave. We have to leave now!"

"Do the spell, Miss Galinda. Or have we misplaced our trust in you?"

Galinda felt tears in her eyes and tried to blink them away. She looked down at the book, but the words seemed to fly off the page. "I can't!"

Greyling was about to say something else, but the queen stopped her. Giving her a knowing look, she calmed down and looked at the blonde. "There's something else you can do for us, Miss Galinda."

The blonde looked up. "Yes?"

"Give back the 'The Greatest Powers of Oz' book."

She froze. "What?"

"The book you stole from the Shiz library," Greyling said as she slowly approached her. "The restricted section of the library."

"I… I…"

"I know you have it. I don't know why you have it, but you do, and I want it back. That book is much too powerful for you, especially if you can't read a simple spell from the Grimmerie."

"I'm sure Miss Elphaba can help you."

Galinda looked up at the queen. She couldn't see the green ghost, but she was certain she was just as shocked as she was. "What?"

"Miss Elphaba is here." The queen's voice was beginning to change. Galinda looked into her eyes and saw that they were changing from brown to light blue.

"That voice…" Elphaba whispered.

"What is…"

"It seems that you didn't come alone, Miss Galinda," the queen said in the new voice. "You brought along a little friend. A dead friend, but a friend nonetheless. I must say, Miss Elphaba, I didn't expect you to leave your old room at Shiz."

"Morrible," Elphaba hissed as she became visible. There was no use in hiding now. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you really think that death would stop me from controlling Oz, dearie?"

"You're possessing the queen!"

"How clever you are." The queen raised her hands and Galinda flew into the air, struggling against the invisible hold.

"Galinda!"

"How history repeats itself," Morrible sneered and cackled. "Such a pity. Miss Galinda is so much prettier than you. I would hate for her to meet the same fate."

"Let her go!"

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you don't want to have to fight me."

Morrible cackled again. "Dearie, you're already _dead_. I think I've won."

Elphaba used all the energy she could and made herself corporeal. She brought the Grimmerie to her and held it under her arm.

"You may have the Grimmerie, but it will take a lot more to stop me," Morrible said, tightening her grip on Galinda.

The blonde was kicking and struggling in the air. Suddenly, she felt the familiar feeling of her magic flowing through her veins. And it was much stronger than she was used to. With a loud grunt, she flexed her fingers and a beam of magic poured out.

She felt herself being released from the magic grip and fell to the ground with a thud. When she got up, she saw the queen laying on the ground, barely moving. Greyling was standing over her, but she was glowering at Galinda.

"Treason!" she shouted. "Guards! Guards!"

She felt cold hands help her up and she looked at Elphaba. "We need to go! Now! Follow me!"

"Thief!" Greyling shouted, and the sound of pounding footsteps grew louder and louder.

"Where are we going?" Galinda asked as she ran with Elphaba.

"A secret passageway out of the palace," the green ghost said as she handed Galinda the Grimmerie. "Put this in your bag."

The footsteps grew louder and louder and Galinda grew even more scared. Elphaba had been right. This trip really had turned sour. And to think, she actually believed that this would have been her big moment to make everyone proud of her.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNN! Well… that went well, didn't it?**


	13. How To Return

Galinda and Elphaba managed to get out of the palace and quickly hurried back to the hotel, where Galinda hurriedly packed what she could.

"I can't believe how horrible this trip turned out," she said as she grabbed the complimentary shampoo and conditioner bottles from the bathroom and shoved them into her bag.

"I'm sorry, Glin," Elphaba said as she watched from the bed.

"It's not your fault, Elphie."

"She knew I was there."

"Greyling?"

"And Morrible. And the queen, by default. And I have a feeling they knew that I was here beforehand."

"They couldn't have."

"They're very powerful. If they knew about the book, then they probably knew about me, too."

Galinda grabbed the _'Greatest Powers of Oz'_ book from her suitcase and stuffed it in her bag. "What happens now?"

"We get the other magical objects in Oz and perform the spell."

"That will destroy the Grimmerie and set you free. I know. I meant… what about me? I'm a fugitive now."

"I have experience with life on the run."

"Yes, and we both can see how that turned out, can't we?"

Elphaba recoiled at the blonde's tone. "I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't end up like me, Galinda."

"That's very reassuring."

The ghost recoiled. "I promise you won't end up like me, Galinda."

The blonde was clearly unsure, but didn't have time to really think about it before someone started pounding on the door. "Open this door! In the name of Her Supreme Ozness, Queen Devana!"

"The guards are here!" Galinda breathed, her heart racing.

"Galinda, I'm going to need you to calm down."

"Calm down? _CALM DOWN!?_ Elphaba, there are Gale Force soldiers at the door about to arrest me… or worse, and you want me to CALM DOWN?!"

"You can't perform the transportation spell when you're nervous. Remember what happened the last time you didn't successfully complete it?"

"Transport to where?"

"Outside the city limits."

"What?"

"That will give us more time to think of a better plan."

"You didn't use a transportation to escape the palace."

"No, I flew on a broomstick."

"Elphaba, now is not the time for jokes!" Galinda hissed as the banging continued.

"I'm not joking. Just do the spell!"

Galinda closed her eyes and muttered the incantation. By the time the guards managed to break the hotel door down, the blonde and her ghost friend were already gone.

* * *

Fiyero sighed as he stood over a table with a map on it. He placed a pin in the Gillikin Forest and sighed. "Where are you, Galinda?" he whispered.

"Captain?"

He turned and nodded. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"There has been another sighting of the witch in the Kumbricia Pass."

Fiyero nodded and placed another pin on the map. "Thank you."

The lieutenant saluted and left the room. The captain sighed and tiredly rubbed his face. He had vowed that he would find the blonde witch, but with every new lead he had, he seemed to be getting nowhere. It had been five years since the blonde had left for the Emerald City. When he heard what had happened, he knew instantly that it was probably just a big mistake. Galinda would have never attacked the queen. He just needed to find out what happened that day.

"Captain Tigulaar?"

He turned around to see a maid in the doorway. "Yes?"

"The Queen has requested your presence in the throne room."

The prince nodded and walked out of his office. When he reached the throne room, the guards immediately bowed and opened the door for him.

"Ah, Captain Tigulaar," Queen Devana smiled when she saw the prince.

Fiyero bowed. "You asked to see me, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. Have you made any progress finding the witch?"

Fiyero bit his lip. "I really don't consider her a witch, ma'am. I –"

The queen pursed her lips. " _Captain_."

Fiyero deflated a tiny bit. "We are very close to finding her."

"How very close?"

"Our most recent sources say she was spotted in the Kumbricia Pass. We have a patrol stationed there and they should be able to find her."

"And capture her."

"And… capture her."

The queen nodded. "Good. You're dismissed, Captain."

Fiyero bowed and swiftly left the throne room. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to hurt Galinda. He just wanted to find her and make sure she was alright. He really missed her.

He walked around the top floor of the palace when he heard noises coming from the attic.

"Hello?" he asked, slowly opening the door and slowly climbing the steps to the attic. "Who's in here?"

He heard hushed voices from the corner and turned sharply. "Reveal yourself, in the name of Queen Devana!"

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows and he regretted not bringing any means of protecting himself. When he fully saw the figure, his heart leapt into his throat.

"Galinda?" he whispered.

"Hi, Fifi."

He didn't waste a second before he closed the distance between them and happily wrapped his arms around her. He melted when she hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder. He lightly kissed her hair and gently pulled away to look at her.

"Where have you been?" he whispered.

"Around... Oz," she answered softly and vaguely.

He looked her over. Even though it had only been five years, for some reason, Galinda looked much older. Her blue eyes no longer sparkled with a youthful glow. Her curly hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She had a few scars on her face and arms and the prince didn't even want to think about where they came from. And even though she was quite petite at Shiz, she now looked like she hadn't eaten a full meal in a while.

"How are you?" he asked, even though he knew it was a very brainless question.

"I'm fine… despite everything," Galinda said, brushing a few strands of her loose hair away from her face.

"I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too."

Fiyero looked down at her large bag. "What's that?"

The blonde held the bag closer and looked down.

"Glin?"

"It's the reason I came back here."

"Glin…"

"Fiyero, the queen is possessed."

The captain blinked. "Okay, I know the queen isn't the _nicest_ person in Oz, but to say that she's possessed is –"

"The truth."

Fiyero paused briefly. "Glin… what happened when you went to see the queen the first time all those years ago?"

"I…" The blonde trailed off and looked away, clearly not wanting to tell what had happened.

"I'll tell him if you want, Glin."

Fiyero looked up and saw Elphaba slowly materialize before him. "Elphaba."

"Hi, Fiyero."

"You haven't changed a bit."

Elphaba chuckled humorlessly. "Yes, well…"

The prince immediately realized his mistake. "I mean… I'm sorry, I didn't mean –"

"I know," Elphaba interrupted softly.

"You can tell him, Elphaba. Someone should know the truth," Galinda said, wrapping her arms around her thin form.

Elphaba told Fiyero the whole Emerald City story, from start to finish. The prince was very quiet, listening and mentally marking his questions.

"Wow," he said when the green ghost finished. "That's… quite a story." He took a breath and turned to the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"And make you become an accomplice? Don't be ridiculous," the blonde scoffed.

"But you didn't have to go through all of this alone."

"Yes, I did. Having you with me would have… complicated things too much. I signed up for this alone when I… said I would help Elphie."

Elphaba looked at the blonde sadly. "And she hasn't been alone. At least… not really. I've been with her the entire time. I know it's not much, but…"

"It was enough," Galinda said, giving the green girl a soft smile, and she smiled back.

"What do we do now?" Fiyero asked.

"We?" the blonde asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You can't expect me to do nothing now that I know the truth."

"You can help by pretending you never saw me," Galinda said. "And not breathing a word about the queen to anyone."

"Are you going to go to the basement?"

"It's the safest place in the palace."

"How do you know?"

The blonde looked over at the green girl, who sheepishly smiled. "Elphaba knew."

"You're going now?"

"That's why I came back here."

"You look tired. Why don't you rest for a bit?"

Both Galinda and Elphaba gave him skeptical looks.

"You can stay in my room."

Elphaba's eyebrow went up.

"No one will know you're here. You can rest and I can bring you some food. It looks like it's been a while since your last big meal."

The blonde frowned.

"Please, Glin. I promise you'll be safe."

Galinda simply stared at him, then sighed. "I… I can make myself invisible and follow you out."

The prince smiled and Galinda muttered the spell… soon vanishing from his sight. He walked out and back to his room. When he closed the door behind him, Galinda and Elphaba reappeared.

"You can freshen up in the bathroom," Fiyero said, gesturing to the closed door on the other side of the room. "I would bring you a spare dress, but I wouldn't be able to cover it up. And you wouldn't be able to leave the room… for obvious reasons. At least… not right now."

"Thank you, Fiyero," Galinda said sincerely, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I really do appreciate it."

"Thank you, Fiyero," Elphaba nodded. "I'll do my best to fix your dress, Glin."

"I can fix it," the blonde said, and Fiyero noticed the multiple tears and patches over the fabric.

"I don't have any sewing supplies in here," the prince admitted.

Both girls giggled. "It's okay," Galinda sighed. "I can use my magic."

"But not before you rest," Elphaba said. "Trust me, you may think that you don't need to rest right now, but you do."

"Yes, Momsie," the blonde said, then froze and bit her lip.

Fiyero watched as tears slowly formed in her eyes and moved to comfort her, but Elphaba held up her hand to stop him.

"Go freshen up, Glin," the green ghost said softly and the blonde slowly made her way to the bathroom.

"What happened?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba looked remorseful. "Something similar to what happened to me," she whispered before disappearing.

* * *

 **Sorry for the shorter chapter, but we're winding down. Two more chapters to go. Will Galinda (and Elphaba) succeed in defeating the queen (and Greyling and Morrible)? Or will they fail and Galinda will join Elphaba in ghosthood? MWAHAHAHA!**


	14. Journey Through Oz

**KatriaFaeyero: LOL! Yes, the library scene was inspired by** ** _Harry Potter_** **.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: MY STORIES MUST BE TRAGIC BECAUSE IT'S FUN! For me, at least. *Cackle***

* * *

 _The pair slowly made their way to a large house on a small hill. Galinda wrapped her cloak tighter around her and looked over at Elphaba._

 _"Everything will be fine," the ghost whispered, and Galinda let out an uneasy breath._

 _The blonde nodded wordlessly and sighed. They stopped in front of the door and Elphaba disappeared. Galinda took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few clock-ticks later, a familiar face answered the door._

 _"Miss Galinda," the man dressed as a butler gasped in surprise._

 _"Hello, Mikal," Galinda smiled softly. "Are my parents home?"_

 _"Yes, they're in the drawing room," Mikal said, stepping aside to let Galinda through._

 _"Thank you," the blonde said as she went to wait in the parlor. She was nervous, and rightfully so, and couldn't stop fidgeting. Even though she couldn't see Elphaba, she felt her gently slip her gold ghostly hand into hers in an attempt to calm her down._

 _She heard footsteps and mentally braced herself. But she didn't quite brace herself enough._

 _The footsteps came to a halt and Galinda looked up. "Momsie. Popsicle."_

 _Mr. and Mrs. Upland stared at their daughter, almost as if they didn't recognize her. Galinda held her breath, hoping they would say something._

 _"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Upland asked, a bit harshly._

 _Galinda wasn't expecting her parents to say that. "I… I need your help."_

 _"Why should we help you?" Mr. Upland asked. "After what you did, why should we even acknowledge you?"_

 _"Because it wasn't my fault," Galinda pleaded. "Please. You have to believe me."_

 _"You attacked the queen!" Mr. Upland roared, and both Galinda and her mother shuddered. "You have committed the ultimate treason. The law requires that anyone with knowledge of your whereabouts turn you in to the Gale Force immediately."_

 _"You wouldn't," Galinda whispered. "Please, Popsicle! You have to help me!"_

 _"I don't have to do anything of the kind. And if you don't leave here immediately, I_ will _call the Gale Force!"_

 _Galinda deflated a bit and looked at her mother. "Momsie?"_

 _Mrs. Upland frowned and turned away from her daughter. Galinda felt tears run down her cheek and she quickly wiped them away. "Get out," Mrs. Upland whispered softly._

 _"Please, Momsie…"_

 _"You heard your mother! Get out!" Mr. Upland sneered._

 _Realizing that it was a lost war, Galinda slowly walked out, closing the door behind her._

 _"I could stay and haunt them for a while, if you want," Elphaba said gently as she appeared next to the blonde._

 _She ignored her._

 _"I'm sorry, Galinda."_

 _The blonde wiped away more tears and took a deep breath. "Looks like I'm on my own now."_

 _"You not on your own. You have me."_

 _"Again, looks like I'm on my own now."_

 _Elphaba made a noise in the back of her throat and disappeared, but the blonde ignored her again. She looked back one more time at her home and hurried away, knowing that she probably wouldn't see it again._

* * *

 _"You snuck into the Emerald City Palace before, so how hard can it be to sneak into Kiamo Ko Castle?"_

 _"So many things are different between the two."_

 _"Well, then go through the walls and try to find a way in front the inside."_

 _"You should have mastered the transportation spell well enough to poof yourself into the castle by now."_

 _Galinda gave the green girl a look. "Fine. But if this goes wrong, I'm blaming you."_

 _"If this goes wrong, you'll be like me and won't have any problems walking through the walls."_

 _"That's very reassuring, Elphaba."_

 _"I'm sorry. You know you'll be fine. The wall isn't as thick as it looks."_

 _"I don't even know what the other side of this wall looks like. How do I know I won't just pop in on someone?"_

 _Elphaba rolled her eyes and disappeared into the castle. "It's an abandoned-looking room. No one is in there."_

 _Galinda made a noise and muttered the spell under her breath and slowly disappeared. When she opened her eyes, she was inside the castle and breathed a sigh of relief._

 _"Now was that so hard?" Elphaba asked as she reappeared._

 _"Shut up, Elphaba," the blonde sighed and the ghost snickered. "The map said that the Mirror of Moure was somewhere in the castle."_

 _"We can't search the entire castle."_

 _"Then we'll split up. I'll search down here where there's a lesser chance of me being seen, and you search upstairs, where there's a lesser chance of you being seen."_

 _"I won't be seen regardless of where I look," Elphaba said, but went upstairs anyway._

 _But instead of immediately searching for the object, she made a quick stop first. She didn't know where she could find the king, but if she took a wild guess, she thought the throne room. Not finding him there, she searched the rest of the floor until she found him in his private office._

 _As soon as she saw Raal, she immediately was sent back to their brief time together at Shiz. He had grown older, which was to be expected. While she would forever remain a nineteen-year-old girl, her old boyfriend was now a fifty-three year old man. He looked young for his age, though Elphaba immediately noticed his greying hair and his wrinkled face._

 _"Raal," she whispered, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hear her._

 _He was looking over some paperwork, sighing as he rubbed circles on his temple. Elphaba smiled softly, then turned when she heard footsteps. She turned and saw the queen come in, smiling at her husband._

 _"Are you almost finished?" she asked as she approached her husband._

 _"Almost," the king said, giving his queen a soft kiss._

 _Elphaba smiled at the scene. She was glad that Raal had found another woman to love, but she did want to admit that she wished it was her by his side._

 _She pulled herself away from the scene. She had got what she came for; to see Raal again. That was all she wanted._

* * *

"So, how have you been traveling around Oz?"

"I learned to create a large bubble and I get to fly around Oz in it. I know, it's not the most thought-of mode of transportation for a witch, but I like it."

"It looks more comfortable than my old broomstick," Elphaba admitted. Galinda was using her aura to make her corporeal to brush her hair. Elphaba still didn't see the point in Galinda doing her hair, but it made her feel better, so she allowed it.

"And did you really find all those objects from the books?" Fiyero asked.

Galinda nodded. "We did. They were mostly hidden in the government buildings and palaces, which made sense, and made it easier."

"So… you went to Kiamo Ko?"

Galinda nodded.

"Did you see my father?"

"I did," Elphaba said softly.

"Oh. Right."

Elphaba nodded and that was the last they spoke about it. Galinda began to braid her hair with a tired sigh. "Stop, Glin."

"But I'm not finished yet."

"You're tired. Stop."

The blonde didn't look happy, but stopped the aura and Elphaba went back to her transparent state.

"You should get some rest."

"But I'm not tired."

"I didn't ask if you were tired."

"Elphaba –"

"Glin, please."

After a brief argument, Galinda relented and slipped into Fiyero's bed. At first, Galinda felt weird sleeping in Fiyero's bed, but Fiyero assured her that the couch was just as comfortable, but he figured that it had been a while since Galinda had a warm bed to sleep in. She continued to protest, but Fiyero put his foot down, and Elphaba threatened to hex Fiyero if he tried any funny business. As soon as her head hit the pillow, though, all of her protests were immediately forgotten.

"You really care for her, don't you?" Fiyero whispered once Galinda was asleep.

Elphaba turned and looked at him. "I do. It's my responsibility to make sure that Galinda doesn't die because of me. And there were times… when she came really close…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She told me she would help me, but I still have to keep her safe. She went through more than I thought she would, and she's been so strong throughout this entire process. It's the least I can do for her."

Fiyero nodded. "I have to get back to work, but I'll lock the door. I'll be back in a few hours."

Elphaba nodded and watched as Fiyero left and locked the door behind him. She settled herself at the edge of the bed and simply watched over the sleeping blonde like a guardian angel.

Fiyero was reviewing more paperwork and placing more pins on the map, even though he knew Galinda wasn't spotted in those places, but he had to throw them off her real trail.

"Captain?"

Fiyero turned. "Yes?"

"The queen wishes to see you in the throne room."

He nodded. "Thank you." What did the queen want to see him for? Did she know about his little secret? He hoped not. He was very careful not to let anyone, not even the maids, into his room, and to always keep his voice down when talking to Galinda and Elphaba.

He made his way to the throne room and bowed before the queen. "You call for me, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Captain," the queen said, sending the guards away so it was just the two of them in the large room. "You have remained very loyal to me these past few years, especially in the search for the witch who attacked me."

"It is my honor to serve the queen," he replied dutifully, trying not to show how nervous he was.

"But, Captain, you must understand that I command and demand complete and utter loyalty and commitment, especially from people I hold in high regard."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Now, it has been brought to my attention that you have been keeping a secret from me. A very important secret. And I would like to know what it is."

Maybe he could play this off. Maybe he could say something else and the queen would believe him. "I would never keep a secret from you that would put you or the country in jeopardy." Not the _best_ excuse, but it was still better than confessing.

"So you admit to keeping a secret from me?"

"I…" Biting his lip, he thought quickly. "I have developed a… secret love interest." It wasn't a total lie, but it was very far from the truth.

The queen leaned forward in her throne. "With who?"

"Her name is… Fae. She's from the Outer City." He didn't know where that name had come from, but it was the first name that came to his head, so he was sticking with it.

"And how often do you meet her?"

"A few times a week. Mostly during my breaks and in the evening."

The queen sat back and considered this new information. All Fiyero had to do was pretend to be sincere and play the part of a young man in love. "What is she like?"

"She's… beautiful. She has long raven hair, chocolate eyes –" He was on the verge of saying 'green skin', but he stopped himself. "She loves reading and spends most of her free time in the library or at the café. She loves to sing, even though it's not her greatest gift, but she's much better at sketching."

He figured that was enough fake information to tide the queen over.

"I'm very happy for you, Captain," the queen said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Fiyero said, letting out a breath.

"However, I know for a fact that that's not your secret," she said as her eyes began to turn light blue.

Fiyero gulped. He knew he was in trouble. Maybe he should have signed up for those acting classes back at Shiz.

"You have committed high treason against me by helping the blonde witch!" the queen boomed in Morrible's voice. "And you will tell me where she is!"

Instantly, Fiyero felt like all of his internal organs were being squeezed out of his body. He collapsed to the floor, crying and struggling to breathe. He was in so much pain that he didn't know what else was going on around him. But he knew one thing.

No matter what, he had to protect Galinda.

* * *

 **The next chapter will be the final chapter, with our big final battle. Will Elphaba get some more ghost friends?**


	15. Goodbyes Aren't Forever

**Here we are, everyone! The final chapter!**

* * *

To say that Galinda had been horrified when she saw Fiyero had been an understatement. She heard someone fiddling with the lock and instantly got scared. She cast the invisibility on herself and held her breath. But when Fiyero finally managed to open the door and stumble inside, slamming it behind him, Galinda lifted the spell with a gasp.

"Fiyero," she whispered, hurrying over to him and, taking his arm, led him to the bed. "What happened to you?"

"The queen… found out… that I was helping you," Fiyero whispered back, grunting softly as he sat down.

Elphaba appeared next to Galinda. "She knows?"

"Apparently."

"Then we have to cast the spell as soon as possible," Elphaba said as Galinda muttered healing spells over Fiyero's wounds.

"There's just one problem," the blonde said, taking a slight breath as she finished the spells. "The book says that the spell has to be performed in the heart of the heart of Oz."

"What does that mean?" Fiyero asked.

"Well, the heart of Oz is the Emerald City, specifically the palace," Elphaba quipped. "And the heart of the Emerald City Palace is –"

"The throne room," Galinda finished. "I have to perform the spell to destroy the Grimmerie in the throne room."

The prince bit his lip. "Oh."

"How are we going to get in?"

"The queen always goes for a morning walk in the gardens every morning after breakfast," Fiyero admitted. "How long is the spell?"

"If I'm not distracted, I could complete it in fifteen minutes."

"That's a long time."

"It's a powerful spell."

"I don't know how long she walks, but I do think it's longer than fifteen minutes."

"Then we'll do it tomorrow morning," Elphaba said. "We can put up a protective barrier around the throne room. It won't be permanent, but it will be enough to stop any unwanted entrances."

Galinda nodded. "And Elphaba?"

"Yes?"

"You never told me what else would happen when the Grimmerie is destroyed."

"I did; the most powerful book in Oz will be destroyed and I'll be free."

"And then what?"

"Then what?"

"What will happen then?"

Elphaba thought for a moment. "I… don't know. I… never thought about it."

"It would throw all of Oz into chaos. Who would take over for the queen when she's overthrown?"

"Overthrow the queen?" Fiyero blinked.

"I just assumed that when the most powerful book is destroyed…"

Elphaba looked thoughtful for a moment. "Even if she's not overthrown, it would get rid of Morrible for good."

"How do you know?"

"I doubt I would leave and not Morrible."

"Oh. Right."

"We can worry about all that later. The most important thing right now is getting into the throne room to perform the spell."

That night, Galinda laid awake in her bed. She cast an illumination spell on the Grimmerie so she could read it without disturbing Fiyero. She studied the spell over and over again, her mind racing for the following day.

"Elphie?" she whispered softly.

The green ghost appeared on the bed next to her. "Yes?"

"I was rereading the spell and –"

"Don't think about it so much," Elphaba warned lightly. "You'll only make yourself more nervous."

"I know, but I realized something else."

"And what is that?"

"This spell to destroy the Grimmerie… it's very powerful."

"Yes. We both know that."

"But if you change a few words… the spell changes."

"To what?"

"A spell that could…" She gulped softly and looked up at the ghost. "Bring you back to life."

Elphaba froze, then disappeared. She reappeared a few clock-ticks later, biting her lip. "What?"

"If I change the words to the spell, I could bring you back to life."

Elphaba regarded her. "I feel a 'but' coming on."

"But you can only perform the spell once. And not a 'one chance per person' type of thing. More like a 'one strike and that's it' thing."

"I would be sixty-four years old."

"No, you wouldn't. It would simply give your ghost a new body, exactly like the one you have before. Since you didn't age all these years, you would still be nineteen."

Elphaba looked away. "I could come back… for real?"

"Yes. You could continue living your life."

"But Oz would still be under the queen's control."

"Yes, but you would be alive. You could finish your education and get married and have children and…"

"But Oz would still be under the queen's control," Elphaba repeated, glancing at the blonde.

Galinda sighed. "Yes."

Elphaba shook her head. "No. Keep the spell the way it is and destroy the Grimmerie."

"But, Elphie –"

"No, Glin. We've come too far. You've given up too much for it all to go to waste now."

"Will you at least consider it?"

"There's nothing to consider."

"But –"

Elphaba disappeared before the blonde could finish. Fiyero mumbled something in his sleep and snuggled deeper under his blanket. Galinda was left to listen to the quiet noises of the night, wanting tomorrow to come, but not wanting it to come too soon.

The next morning, Galinda woke up at the crack of dawn to a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice on the nightstand.

"Eat up," she heard Fiyero say and turned towards him. "You have a very big day today."

She pushed herself up with a yawn and nodded. "I do."

"You'll be fine, Glin," the prince said, moving over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. "From what I've heard, you've become a very powerful witch these past few years."

"Those are just rumors."

"But all rumors have a bit of truth to them."

"Not all rumors," Elphaba's disembodied voice said.

Nevertheless, Galinda finished eating and went to get washed and dressed. She came out, her damp hair in a high ponytail, and her very-mended, yet clean, old dress.

"You have the five items?" Elphaba asked as the blonde slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Yup."

"And the Grimmerie?"

"Mmhmm."

Elphaba looked at Fiyero and nodded. "We're ready."

Galinda cast the invisibility spell on herself and she and Elphaba followed the prince out. They were about to round the corner to the throne room when they stopped.

"How are we going to get past the two guards?" Fiyero whispered as softly as he could.

"I'll take care of them," Galinda whispered.

"You'll _take care of them_?" Fiyero repeated incredulously.

Galinda ignored him and muttered another spell under her breath and the two guards slumped to the floor.

"Did you just…"

"No, they're just asleep. But not for long. Come on," the blonde whispered, taking Fiyero's hand and pulling him forward.

Fiyero knew better than to question more, so he simply opened the large doors to the empty throne room. Thankfully, the room was empty and Galinda knelt down in the center of the room. She opened her bag and took out the five magical items and the Grimmerie. She opened the book to the spell and placed the objects in a star around it.

"Ready?" Elphaba asked.

Galinda nodded and began to chant.

"We have to make sure nothing distracts her or breaks her concentration," Elphaba instructed to Fiyero.

The prince nodded. He heard footsteps outside, but didn't think anything of it.

The spell started off great. The blonde seemed to make a song out of the soft, slow melody of the spell. To Fiyero, it was actually quite beautiful. He had no idea what she was saying, but it still sounded beautiful.

Galinda was a close to finishing the spell when the doors flew open and Fiyero whipped around, seeing the queen and Greyling, both looking murderous.

"Ozdamnit," he muttered.

"High treason!" the queen shouted, flicking her wrist and Fiyero and sending him crashing against the wall.

Elphaba had disappeared and was doing her best to shield Galinda, but knew there was only so much she could do. She looked over at Fiyero and saw his motionless body slumped against the floor.

"Guards! Seize her!" Greyling commanded, pointing a threatening finger at the blonde, who was still chanting the spell.

The guards who were knocked out suddenly came storming in, but before they got to Galinda, they were blown back by an invisible force.

"It seems our friend is still here," Greyling sneered.

The queen's eyes turned blue. "No matter," Morrible said. "We can deal with her later. First, we must stop the blonde witch."

Elphaba tried to hold them back, but Greyling and the queen (and Morrible) were much too powerful for her. "No!" she screamed as Galinda was knocked away before she finished saying the final word of the spell.

The ghost could only watch as the book lit up and glowed for a bit before returning to normal. It was over. The spell had failed and the Grimmerie could never be destroyed.

Galinda pushed herself up and glanced at her two attackers. Grunting, she began angrily hurling magic at both of them. Greyling was prepared, having seen how the blonde's emotions tied to her magic. She was, however, a bit caught off-guard at how she had improved, but didn't let that distract her.

"Give up, Miss Galinda," Greyling spat, trying not to show how tired she was.

The blonde quickly glanced at Fiyero, who still wasn't moving, and her face hardened. "Never," she screamed as she continued hurling magic.

Elphaba watched from behind her. She was very impressed at how much magic Galinda was using without getting tired. Or at least… without appearing tired… yet.

The battle between the three seemed to go on forever, but in reality, it was only around fifteen minutes. After many magic holes in the walls, singed carpet edges, and ripped curtains, Galinda had enough.

"Enough!" she shouted, creating a rather large energy ball, larger than anyone had ever seen before.

"Galinda, be careful with that!" Elphaba shouted, but was ignored.

Both the queen's and Greyling's eyes widened, and before they could react, Galinda shot it at both of them and it exploded with a deafening sound.

Elphaba rushed over to the blonde. "Galinda?"

The blonde swayed and Elphaba made herself corporeal just in time to catch her and gently help her down to the floor.

Hours later, Galinda coughed and slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the bed in Fiyero's room. She slowly sat up, wondering if she had dreamt the entire thing.

"You didn't."

The blonde gasped and jumped, whipping her head around to see Elphaba.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. Especially after the whole ordeal you just went through."

"What… what happened?"

"You won. The Grimmerie isn't destroyed, but you won. You defeated both Greyling and the queen."

"Morrible?"

"Is gone, too."

"How?"

"When a ghost is possessing a living person, and that person died, that ghost ceases to exist. That was in the ghost book you read back at Shiz," Elphaba said with a soft smile, secretly knowing that Galinda most likely wouldn't have remembered that.

"Fiyero…"

"Is fine. Well… not _fine_ , per say. I just mean that he's alive."

Galinda looked at her to elaborate.

"He suffered a broken rib and a fractured ankle, but other than that, he's fine."

"He's fine," Galinda repeated humorlessly with an eye roll.

"He'll _live_."

"Elphaba, be more sympathetic."

"This is as sympathetic as I get." Her attempts to lighten the mood were lost and she quickly realized that. "You did it, Glin. You won."

"But… if I did… why are you still here?"

"I wanted to wait until you woke up. I was actually worried that I would miss the window, but I still have some time left."

The blonde struggled to sit up, but Elphaba pushed her back down.

"First, I want to thank you. When we first met, I knew how crazy I must have sounded to you."

"It's not every day you strike up a conversation with a ghost," Galinda chuckled.

Elphaba smiled. "Second, I want you do know how proud I am of you. You were so brave and willing to risk everything."

"What happened to the Grimmerie?" Galinda suddenly blurted. "Since I didn't get to permanently destroy it."

"I've hidden it somewhere where it will never be found again."

"Where?"

Elphaba smirked. "Just trust me on this one."

Galinda gave her a look, but conceded. "Okay."

"And finally, I want to tell you something. Apparently, Devana and Greyling were not well liked at all. You, however, are. Your name is in the process of being cleared and I heard through the grapevine that they want to make you the new ruler of Oz."

"Me?!" Galinda gasped.

"But don't quote me on that. This is all happening really fast, in my opinion."

Suddenly, Elphaba was enveloped in a soft, white light, and both girls knew exactly what was happening.

"I have to leave now," Elphaba said, almost sadly.

Galinda finally managed to push herself up and gave the green girl a hug. This time, she didn't feel the coldness she had associated with touching the green ghost, but rather, warmth. "I'll miss you. You've changed me for the better… for… good."

"I'll miss haunting you," Elphaba chuckled, then sobered. "I'm happy to have known you, Glin."

The girls pulled apart and Galinda waved with a final, "Goodbye, Elphie," as the ghost disappeared from her sight for the final time.

A month later, Galinda sat at her desk as she read through the final draft of her speech to Oz.

"Fellow Ozians… friends, we have been through a very trying time. And there will be other things that try us. But we must not let them get the better of us. And I, with your help, would like to help lead you through these times, both good and bad. I would like to try to be… Glinda the Good."

* * *

 **The End.**

 **Thank you all for following me on this crazy journey! My next story, _"Play the Game"_ will be up tomorrow!**


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